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I 


CONFUCIUS 


AND  THE 


CHINESE  CLASSICS. 


Confucius 


AND  THE 


Chinese  Classics 


Readings  in  Chinese  Literature. 


REV.  A.  W.  LOOMIS. 


SAN  FRANCISCO: 

A.  ROMAN  & COMPANY, 

N08.  417  AND  419  MONTGOMERY  STREET. 

NEW  TORE:  NO.  17  MERCER  ST. 

1 8G7. 


EDITED  AND  COMPILED 


BY 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  A.  D.  1867,  by 
A.  ROMAN  & COMPANY, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
District  of  California. 


Wh.  Faulkner  it  Son,  Stereotypeks, 
411  Clay  Street 


CONTENTS 


PART  I. 

HISTORY  AND  BIOGRAPHY. 

PAGE. 


Chinese  History  down  to  the  Christian  Era 15 

Ancient  Empire  of  China 27 

Life  of  Confucius 44 


PART  II. 

THE  FOUR  BOOKS. 

BOOK  FIRST — CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 

Chapter  I. — What  the  Disciples  of  Confucius  say  of  Him . 67 


“ II. — Theology  and  Religion 82 

“ III. — Domestic  Relations 86 

“ IV. — Ethics 90 

“ V. — On  Government 1 1 7 

“ VI. — Maxims 126 

BOOK  SECOND — THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 

Chapter  I. — Government  of  Family  and  State 13 1 

“ II. — State  Offices  and  Emoluments 135 

“ III. — Self-Culture 138 

BOOK  THIRD — THE  DOCTRINE  OF  TIIE  MEAN. 

Chapter  I. — The  Path  of  Duty 142 

“ II. — Picture  of  the  Perfect  Man 146 

“ III. — Rules  for  the  Government  of  the  Empire 150 

“ IV. — Religion  153 

V. — Miscellaneous  156 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  FOURTH — MENCIUS. 

Pace. 

Chapter  I. — On  Government 164 

“ II. — Metaphysics  and  Morals 205 

“ III. — Ideal  of  the  Perfect  Man 225 

“ IV. — Domestic  Regulations 236 

“ V. — Miscellaneous 251 

PART  III. 

SELECTIONS. 

Pursuit  of  Knowledge  under  Difficulties 265 

A Confucian  Tract 268 

A Budhist  Tract 275 

The  Rationalists 278 

Tablet  Literature 289 

Directory  for  the  Whole  Life 292 

Rules  of  Etiquette 298 

The  Mirror  of  the  Mind 307 

A Precocious  Youth 312 

Harmony  between  Husband  and  Wife ». . . 318 

Thousand  Character  Classic 331 

Examples  of  Filial  Duty 337 

Chinese  Moral  Maxims 344 

Apothems  and  Proverbs  351 

Aphorisms  by  Dr.  Hu  Tsin-Yang 356 

Ancient  Chinese  Poetry 357 

Modern  Chinese  Poetry 360 

A Recent  Visit  to  the  Classic  Grounds  of  China 371 

PART  IV. 

EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 

Remarks  on  the  Doctrines  taught  by  the  Chinese 
Sages,  and  their  Influence  on  the  Chinese  Mind.  393 


PREFACE. 


Recently  there  has  been  an  unusual  call  for  books 
on  China.  The  increasing  commerce  between  this  coun- 
try and  that  ancient  and  wealthy  kingdom  has  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  intelligent  men  of  business,  while  the 
close  proximity  of  our  western  coast  to  China  has  awa- 
kened a desire  among  a large  portion  of  our  people  to 
gain  a more  thorough  acquaintance  with  our  neighbors  : 
especially  has  this  been  found  to  be  the  case  since  the 
establishment  of  the  line  of  mail  steamers  by  the  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  Company,  by  which  both  commerce  and 
travel  are  destined  to  be  greatly  augmented. 

The  presence  of  many  Chinamen  in  our  own  country 
is  another  reason  for  the  strong  desire  that  has  been  ob- 
served to  obtain  books  which  may  enable  one  better  to 
understand  the  character,  social  habits,  and  religious  be- 
liefs of  this  strange  people. 

To  meet  all  these  demands,  a Book  Firm  of  this  city 


V1U 


PREFACE. 


has  spared  no  pains  or  expense  to  bring  together  as  com- 
plete a collection  of  works  on  China  as  was  possible. 
Such  as  were  not  to  be  obtained  at  home  have  been 
ordered  from  abroad ; and  among  the  publications  so 
collected — chief  among  them,  we  may  say — are  the  first 
four  of  a work,  which,  when  complete,  will  consist  of 
fourteen  thick  octavo  volumes,  which,  when  finished, 
will  be  a translation  of  all  the  Chinese  'classics.  In 
them  are  given  both  the  original  Chinese  text  and  the 
English  translation;  having  copious  notes  in  English, 
with  Chinese  characters  interspersed. 

While  these  volumes  are  a rare  literary  curiosity,  and 
of  immense  value  to  every  student  in  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage and  literature,  yet  the  price  at  which  they  are  of- 
fered holds  them  far  above  the  reach  of  the  mass  of 
readers.  We  hope,  however,  as  these  volumes  shall  suc- 
cessively appear,  they  may  be  honored  with  a place  on 
the  shelves  of  most  of  our  public  libraries : the  libraries 
of  all  literary  institutions  ought  by  all  means  to  pos- 
sess them. 

Because  this  work  contains  a vast  amount  of  valuable 
and  interesting  matter  which  should  in  spme  form  be  laid 
before  the  public,  the  compiler  of  this  book  has  been 
urged  to  undertake  the  work,  the  result  of  which  he 
herewith  offers  to  the  reader. 

A large  portion  of  this  volume  consists  of  extracts 
from  the  famous  Four  Books  of  Confucius  and  his  disci- 


PREFACE. 


IX 


pies,  translated  by  the  Rev.  James  Legge,  D.D.,  one  of 
the  missionaries  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and 
who  here  presents  us  some  of  the  ripe  fruit  of  a thirty 
years’  study  of  the  Chinese  language  and  literature. 

We  flatter  ourselves  that  the  task  we  have  undertaken 
will  be  regarded  by  the  translator  as  a friendly  office,  by 
w'hich  his  herculean  labors  and  patient  study  in  this  di- 
rection will  be  brought  into  more  general  notice  than 
otherwise  they  could  have  been,  and  thereby,  as  we  be- 
lieve, a demand  will  be  created  for  the  entire  work. 

Except  for  the  great  distance  and  the  ocean  inter- 
vening, we  might  have  availed  ourselves  of  his  better 
judgment  both  in  the  selections  and  in  the  arrangement. 

So  far  as  regards  the  selections  from  the  Four  Books, 
our  design  has  been  to  go  carefully  through  them,  and 
gather  a few  sentences  on  the  various  subjects  which 
were  treated  by  the  Chinese  authors,  and  arrange  them 
under  their  appropriate  heads. 

Those  familiar  with  the  originals  may  miss  some  pas- 
sages which  they  have  met  in  their  reading  and  greatly 
admired,  and  which,  in  their  opinion,  would  have  en- 
hanced the  value  of  this  volume ; our  object,  however, 
has  not  been  to  exhaust  the  mine,  but  merely  to  pro- 
duce a few  specimens  ; and  we  can  assure  the  reader  that 
as  valuable  ore  remains  to  reward  his  search  as  any 
that  we  have  here  produced. 

The  reader  will  find  in  this  volume  not  merely  what  has 

I* 


X 


PREFACE. 


been  gathered  from  the  Four  Books,  but  also  selections 
from  several  other  departments  of  Chinese  literature. 

The  “ Middle  Kingdom,”  by  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams, 
has  afforded  us  valuable  assistance.  The  Life  of  Con- 
fucius, which  we  have  inserted,  has  been  compiled  from 
the  British  Encyclopedia,  from  Williams,  and  from  other 
sources.  The  sketch  of  history  is  from  Williams  and 
from  Legge,  and  others.  We  have  obtained  help  from 
the  Chinese  Repository,  and  from  the  “Transactions 
of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society.” 

The  variety  of  miscellaneous  pieces  will  be  found 
credited,  where  they  occur,  to  their  respective  authors 
and  translators,  so  far  as  they  were  known. 

One  design  in  the  issuing  of  this  work  has  been  to 
answer  some  of  the  numerous  questions  which  people 
are  constantly  asking  respecting  the  Chinese,  their  po- 
litical, domestic,  and  social  habits,  their  religious  be- 
liefs, and  the  source  from  which  they  have  been  de- 
rived. By  this  volume  the  reader  is  introduced  to 
Chinese  society  as  it  existed  two  thousand  years  ago  ; 
and  as  Chinese  customs,  ceremonies,  religious  and  po- 
litical creeds  have  changed  but  little  during  this  suc- 
cession of  generations  through  twenty  centuries,  to 
learn  what  China  was  in  the  days  of  Confucius  is  to 
learn,  in  a great  measure,  what  China  is  to-day. 

China  is  the  oldest  kingdom  on  the  globe ; the  wise 
statesman  will,  therefore,  avail  himself  of  the  means 


PREFACE. 


XI 


here  afforded  for  learning  what  causes  may  have  operated 
towards  the  preservation  of  this  one  nation,  while  in  all 
other  parts  of  the  earth  thrones  have  been  set  up  and 
demolished,  and  kingdoms  have  arisen  and  decayed  in 
constant  succession. 

This  book  is  desirable,  not  as  a curiosity  merely  ; it 
contains  a large  amount  of  sound  instruction.  The 
chapter  on  Political  Economy  is  worthy  of  careful  studv 
by  all  college  professors.  The  considerations  which 
should  govern  in  the  choice  of  public  officers,  the  mo- 
tives which  should  actuate  the  candidate  in  the  accept- 
ance of  office,  and  the  line  of  conduct  which  public  men 
ought  ever  to  pursue,  are  treated  in  an  admirable  style, 
and  will  be  admired  not  only  for  their  wisdom,  but  as 
particularly  appropriate  for  the  country  and  the  times  in 
which  we  live. 

Those  fond  of  metaphysics  and  of  ethics  will,  at  least, 
be  entertained  with  the  readings  under  these  heads, 
which  are  supplied  from  Mencius. 

The  character  which  was  impressed  upon  the  old  Puri- 
tan stock,  and  which  through  many  generations  has  not 
yet  been  entirely  worn  away,  was  in  part  ens tamped 
upon  the  susceptible  minds  of  the  children,  while  study- 
ing the  pictures,  the  texts,  and  the  sentiments  which 
were  cut  in  the  bricks  of  those  spacious  fire-places  in 
which  they  lived  in  Holland : so  in  China,  the  walls  of 
their  dwellings,  shops,  and  public  halls  are  adorned  with 


xii 


PREFACE. 


scrolls  on  which  are  inscribed  sentiments  from  their  an- 
cient autiiors  ; even  the  bowls  with  which  three  times  a 
day  their  tables  are  set,  and  the  cups  from  which  at  all 
hours  they  sip  their  tea,  are  -written  over  with  verses  from 
the  Book  of  Odes,  with  proverbs,  and  maxims.  Let  us, 
therefore,  learn  what  is  the  character  of  the  mottoes  and 
maxims  which  they  are  constantly  reading  and  repeating, 
and  which  must  exert  a powerful  influence  in  forming 
and  preserving,  as  it  is,  the  character  of  this  nation  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty  or  four  hundred  millions  of 
people. 

The  Chinese  are  proverbially  a reading  people  : let  us 
know  what  it  is  they  read. 

The  classics,  especially  the  Four  Books,  are  the  Scrip- 
tures— the  holy  books  of  the  Chinese.  From  them,  and 
particularly  from  the  Lun  Yu  of  the  Four  Books,  the 
themes  are  taken  which  are  given  to  the  students  at  the 
examinations.  These  books  furnish  the  texts  on  which 
Chinese  moralists  of  modern  times  found  their  dis- 
courses and  tracts  designed  to  exhort  the  people  to 
virtue. 

These  classical  works,  as  well  as  all  books  put  into 
the  hands  of  children  in  the  schools,  are  committed  to 
memory  by  Chinese  scholars,  old  and  young ; and  they 
are  so  thoroughly  learned  that  were  every  scrap  of  writ- 
ing in  China  to  be  destroyed,  they  could  be  restore  l 
again  from  the  memories  of  many  thousands  of  the  lit- 
erary men. 


PREFACE. 


xiii 

Considering  the  high  antiquity  of  these  writings,  their 
great  intrinsic  worth,  the  perfection  in  which  they  have 
been  preserved,  the  vast  number  of  people  whose  char- 
acters have  been  moulded  by  them,  it  is  surprising  that 
in  all  the  world  so  few  people  outside  of  China  have 
learned  anything  about  them ; now,  however,  as  has  been 
intimated,  a desire  is  beginning  to  be  awakened  to  learn 
more  of  China  and  its  literature. 

In  this  volume  will  be  found  quotations  from  the  Book 
of  Rites,  a few  examples  from  the  Book  of  Odes,  and 
specimens  of  Chinese  composition  and  style  of  thought 
of  a later  date  than  Confucius,  and  these  on  several 
subjects. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  the 
people  of  China  hold  these  works  of  their  ancient  sages ; 
it  amounts  almost,  if  not  quite,  to  a religious  veneration ; 
indeed,  letters,  in  their  view,  are  sacred : they  allow  no 
printed  paper — nothing  on  which  there  is  writing  of  any 
kind  in  the  Chinese  character — to  be  put  to  an  ignoble 
use,  to  be  used  for  wrapping  paper,  or  to  be  trampled 
under  foot.  There  are  men  employed  to  go  around 
gathering  up  all  v'aste  documents  and  pieces  of  printed 
paper,  which  are  burned  in  a formal  manner  near  some 
shrine  or  temple. 

Further  remarks  to  aid  the  reader  may  be  found  in 
an  Introduction  to  the  Four  Books,  in  the  body  of  the 
work. 


H ISTORY. 


A BRIEF  OUTLINE  OF  CHINESE  HISTORY,  DOWN  TO 
THE  TIMES  OF  CONFUCIUS  AND  MENCIUS. 


Chinese  historians  have  endeavored  to  explain  the 
creation  and  origin  of  the  world  around  them ; but,  ig- 
norant of  the  sublime  fact  that  there  is  one  Creator  who 
upholds  His  works  by  the  word  of  His  power,  they  have 
invented  various  modes  of  accounting  for  it,  and  wearied 
themselves  in  theorizing  and  disputing  with  each  other. 
One  of  them,  Yangtsz,  remarks,  in  view  of  these  conflict- 
ing suppositions  : “ Who  knows  the  affairs  of  remote 
antiquity,  since  no  authentic  records  have  come  down  to 
us  ? He  who  examines  these  stories  will  find  it  difficult 
to  believe  them;  and  careful  scrutiny  will  convince  him 
that  they  are  without  foundation.  In  the  primeval  ages 
no  historical  records  were  kept.  Why  then,  since  the  an- 
cient books  that  described  those  times  were  burnt  by 
Tsin,  should  we -misrepresent  those  remote  ages,  and  sat- 


i6 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


isfy  ourselves  with  vague  fables  ? But  as  everything  except 
heaven  and  earth  must  have  a cause,  it  is  clear  that  they 
have  always  existed,  and  that  cause  produced  all  sorts  of 
men  and  beings,  and  endowed  them  with  their  various 
qualities.  But  it  must  have  been  man  who  in  the  be- 
ginning produced  all  things  on  earth,  and  who  may  there- 
fore be  viewed  as  the  lord,  and  from  whom  rulers  derive 
their  dignities.”  Mencius  said  : “ It  would  be  better  to 
be  without  the  Book  of  History,  than  to  give  entire  credit 
to  it.”  The  Book  of  History  here  mentioned  is  the  Shoo 
King  ; and  if  he  speaks  thus  of  the  records  of  Yaou,  and. 
Shun,  and  other  ancient  emperors,  how  much  more  would 
he  discredit  these  mythological  histories. 

Most  of  the  Chinese  imagine  that  the  world  owes  its 
existence  to  the  retroactive  agency  of  the  dual  powers 
yang  and  yin , which  first  formed  the  outline  of  the 
universe,  and  were  themselves  influenced  by  their  own 
creations.  One  of  their  authors  says  : 

“ Heaven  was  formless — an  utter  chaos  ; and  the  whole 
mass  was  nothing  but  confusion.  Order  was  first  pro- 
duced in  the  pure  ether,  and  out  of  it  the  universe  came 
forth.  The  universe  produced  air,  and  air  the  milky 
way.  When  the  pure  male  principle  yang  had  been  di- 
luted, it  formed  the  heavens  ; the  heavy  and  thick 
parts  coagulated,  and  formed  the  earth.  The  refined 
particles  united  very  soon,  but  the  union  of  the  thick 
and  heavy  went  on  slowly  ; therefore  the  heavens  came 
into  existence  first,  and  the  earth  afterwards.  From 
the  subtle  essence  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  dual  prin- 
ciples yang  and  yin  were  formed.  From  their  joint 
operation  came  the  four  seasons,  and  these  putting  forth 
their  energies  gave  birth  to  all  the  products  of  the  earth. 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA.  1 7 

The  warm  effluence  of  the  yang  being  condensed  pro- 
duced fire,  and  the  finest  parts  of  fire  formed  the  sun. 
The  cold  exhalations  of  the  yin  being  likewise  condensed 
produced  water,  and  the  finest  parts  of  the  watery  sub- 
stance formed  the  moon.  By  the  seminal  influence  of 
the  sun  and  moon,  came  the  stars.  Thus  heaven  was 
adorned  with  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  The  earth  also 
received  rain,  rivers,  and  dust.” 

But  this  acute  explanation,  like  the  notions  of  Hesiod 
among  the  Greeks,  was  too  subtle  for  the  common 
people.  They  also  wanted  to  personify  and  deify  these 
powers  and  operations ; but  lacking  the  imaginative 
genius  and  fine  taste  of  the  Greeks,  their  mythological 
personages  are  outrageous,  and  their  theories  shape- 
less monsters.  No  creator  of  the  world  is  known 
or  imagined,  who,  like  Brahm,  lives  in  space,  ineffable, 
formless.  But  the  first  man,  Pwanku,  had  a herculean 
task  given  him — no  less  a work  than  to  mould  the  chaos 
which  produced  him,  and  chisel  out  the  earth  that  was  to 
contain  him.  The  Rationalists  picture  him  holding  a 
chisel  and  mallet  in  his  hands,  splitting  and  fashioning 
vast  masses  of  granite  floating  confusedly  in  space.  Be- 
hind the  openings  his  powerful  hand  has  made  are  seen 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  monuments  of  his  stupendous 
labors  ; and  at  his  right  hand,  inseparable  companions  of 
his  toils,  but  whose  generation  is  left  in  obscurity,  stand 
the  dragon,  the  phoenix,  and  the  tortoise,  and  sometimes 
the  unicorn — divine  types  and  progenitors  with  himself 
of  the  animal  creation.  His  efforts  were  continued 
eighteen  thousand  years,  and  by  small  degrees  he  and 
his  work  increased  ; the  heavens  rose  ; the  earth  spread 
out  and  thickened  ; and  Pwanku  grew  in  stature  six  feet 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


18 

every  day,  till,  his  labor  done,  he  died  for  the  benefit  of 
his  handiwork.  His  head  became  mountains,  his  breath 
wind  and  clouds,  and  his  voice  thunder.  His  limbs  were 
changed  into  the  four  poles,  his  veins  into  rivers,  his 
sinews  into  the  undulations  of  the  earth’s  surface,  and  his 
flesh  into  fields ; his  beard,  like  Berenice’s  hair,  was  turned 
into  stars  j his  skin  and  hair  into  herbs  and  trees ; and 
his  teeth,  bones,  and  marrow,  into  metals,  rocks,  and 
precious  stones ; his  dropping  sweat  increased  to  rain  ; 
and  lastly,  ( nascilur  riduulus  mus ) the  insects  which 
stuck  to  his  body  were  transformed  into  people  ! 

Pwanku  was  succeeded  by  three  rulers  of  monstrous 
forms,  called  the  Celestial,  Terrestrial,  and  Human  Sov- 
ereigns, impersonations  of  a trinity  of  powers,  whose 
traces  and  influences  run  through  Chinese  philosophy, 
religion,  and  politics.  Their  acts  and  characters  are  de- 
tailed with  the  utmost  gravity,  and  more  than  Methusa- 
lean  longevity  allowed  them  to  complete  their  plans. 
Their  reigns  continued  eighteen  thousand  years  (more  or 
less,  according  to  the  author  quoted)  during  which  time 
good  government  commenced,  men  learned  to  eat  and 
drink,  the  sexes  united,  sleep  was  invented,  and  other 
improvements  adopted.  One  would  think,  if  the  sub- 
jects of  these  wonderful  beings  were  so  long  lived,  great 
perfection  might  have  been  attained  in  these  and  other 
useful  arts  ; but  the  mysterious  tortoise,  companion  of 
Pwanku,  on  whose  carapace  was  written  in  tadpole-headed 
characters  the  history  of  the  anterior  world,  did  not  sur- 
vive, and  their  record  has  not  come  down. 

After  them  flourished  two  other  monarchs,  one  of  them 
being  called  Yu-chau,  which  means  having  a nest , and 
the  other  Sui-jin,  or  match-man.  Whether  the  former  in- 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


19 


vented  nests  for  the  abode  of  his  subjects,  such  as  the 
Indians  on  the  Oronoco  have,  is  not  stated  ; but  the 
latter  brought  down  fire  from  heaven  for  them  to  cook 
with,  and  became  the  second,  or  rather  the  first,  Pro- 
metheus. 

Chinese  mythological  history  ends  with  the  appear- 
ance of  Fullin',  and  their  chronology  should  not  be 
charged  with  the  long  periods  antecedent,  varying  from 
forty-five  to  five  hundred  thousand  years,  for  the  people 
themselves  do  not  believe  this  duration.  These  periods 
are,  however,  a mere  twinkling  compared  with  the  Kul- 
pas  of  the  Hindus,  whose  highest  era,  called  the  Un- 
speakably Inexpressible,  requires  4,456,448  cyphers  fol- 
lowing a unit  to  represent  it. 

The  accession  of  Fulfill  is  placed  in  the  Chinese  an- 
nals, b.c.  2852,  or  eight  years  after  the  death  of  Enos, 
1152  years  after  the  creation,  and  508  before  the  deluge, 
according  to  the  common  received  chronology  of  Usher. 
Fulfill  and  his  seven  successors  are  stated  to  have  reigned 
747  years,  averaging  93  each.  Those  who  follow  Usher 
consider  these  monarchs,  if  they  ever  had  an  existence, 
to  be  Chinese  travesties  of  the  eight  antediluvian  patri- 
archs. The  common  chronology  brings  the  deluge  about 
thirteen  years  after  the  accession  of  Yau,  and  the  death 
of  Shun,  the  last  of  the  eight,  b.c.  2205,  or  twenty-five 
years  after  the  confusion  of  tongues.  According  to  Hales, 
the  last  epoch  is  one  hundred  and  twelve  years  before  the 
call  of  Abraham,  and  these  eight  Chinese  monarchs  are, 
therefore,  contemporaries  of  the  patriarchs  who  lived  be- 
tween Shem  and  Abraham,  commencing  with  Salah,  and 
ending  with  Nahor.  The  duration  of  their  reigns,  more- 
over, is  such  as  would  bear  the  same  proportion  to  ages 


20 


ANCIENT  HIS10RY  OF  CHINA. 


of  five  hundred  years,  which  their  contemporaries  lived, 
as  the  present  average  of  twenty  or  twenty-five  years  does 
to  a life  of  sixty. 

To  Shinnung,  i.  e.  Divine  Husbandman,  and  Hwangtl 
i.  e.  Yellow  Emperor,  are  also  ascribed  many  valuable 
inventions.  The  first  was  the  patron  of  agriculture,  and 
discoverer  of  the  medicinal  properties  of  herbs  ; the  sec- 
ond invented  the  cycle  now  in  use  ; the  calendar  was 
formed  in  his  reign,  and  characters  were  made  for  record- 
ing events.  The  Chinese  annalists  fill  up  the  reigns  of 
these  chiefs,  and  their  successors,  down  to  the  time  of 
Yau,  with  a series  of  inventions  and  improvements  in  the 
arts  of  life  and  good  government,  sufficient  to  bring  soci- 
ety to  that  degree  of  comfort  and  order  they  suppose 
consonant  with  the  character  of  the  monarchs.  The  ear- 
liest records  of  the  Chinese  correspond  rather  too  closely 
with  their  present  character  to  receive  full  belief;  but 
while  they  may  be  considered  as  unworthy  of  entire  con- 
fidence, it  will  be  allowed  that  they  present  an  appear- 
ance of  probability  and  naturalness  hardly  possessed  by 
the  early  annals  of  Greece. 

The  establishment  of  the  sexagenary  cycle  in  the  sixty- 
first  year  of  Hwangtfis  reign,  after  the  deluge,  and  eighty- 
two  years  after  the  death  of  Arphaxad,  is  a remarkable 
record  ; and  although  it  would  have  been  easy,  as  many 
suppose  was  done,  to  have  antedated  it  at  some  subse- 
quent period  in  order  to  impose  upon  themselves  with 
the  belief  of  antiquity,  no  arguments  or  facts  are  adduced 
to  prove  that  such  was  the  case. 

Three  reigns,  averaging  eighty  years’  duration,  inter- 
vened between  that  of  Hwangtf  and  the  celebrated  Yau, 
but  no  records  have  come  down  of  the  history  of  the  rul- 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


2 I 


ers,  except  that  they  lived  and  died.  They  were  all  elected 
by  the  people,  much  as  were  Shamgar,  Jephthah,  and 
other  judges  in  Israel,  and  probably  exercised  a similar 
sway.  The  reigns  and  character  of  Yau  and  Shun  have 
been  immortalized  by  Confucius,  and  whatever  was  their 
real  history,  that  sage  showed  his  sagacity  in  going  back 
to  their  remote  times  for  his  models,  and  fixing  upon  a 
period  neither  fabulous  nor  certain ; one  which  prevented 
the  cavils  of  skepticism  and  the  appearance  of  complete 
fabrication.  Whether  they  were  fictitious  personages  or 
not,  they  are  represented  as  following  those  principles  of 
government  which  every  man  of  sound  judgment  must 
approve  ; and  their  system  of  religious  rites  savors  strongly 
of  the  simplicity  of  patriarchal  times,  when  even  in  China 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  was  not  utterly  lost. 

A tremendous  deluge  occurred  during  the  reign  of  Yau, 
B.c.  2293,  caused,  it  is  said,  by  the  overflowing  of  the  riv- 
ers in  the  north  of  China.  Those  who  place  the  Noachic 
deluge  B.c.  2348,  regard  this  as  only  a different  version 
of  that  event ; the  variation  of  fifty  years  being  unimpor- 
tant. M.  Klaproth,  who  favors  the  Septuagint  chro- 
nology, says  it  is  nearly  synchronous  with  the  deluge  of 
Xisuthrus,  b.c.  2297.  The  record  of  this  catastrophe  in 
the  Shu  King  is  hardly  applicable  to  an  overwhelming 
flood.  “ Grandees,”  said  the  emperor,  “ we  suffer  much 
from  the  inundation ; the  waters  cover  the  hills  on  every 
side  ; they  overtop  the  mountains,  and  seem  to  be  rising 
even  to  the  skies.  If  any  one  can  be  found  who  is  able 
to  remedy  this  evil,  I wish  he  may  be  employed.”  They 
presented  Kwan  as  a proper  man,  but  he  showed  his  ineffi- 
ciency in  laboring  nine  years  without  success  to  drain  off 
the  waters.  Y au  was  then  advised  to  employ  Shun,  who 


22 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


called  in  Yu,  a son  of  Kwan,  to  his  aid,  and  the  flood: 
were  assuaged  by  deepening  the  beds  of  the  rivers,  and 
opening  new  channels.  These  slight  notices  hardly  com- 
port with  a flood  like  the  Noachic  deluge,  and  are  with 
much  greater  probability  referred  to  an  overflow  of  one 
of  the  great  rivers,  or  to  the  change  in  the  bed  of  the 
Yellow  River  from  its  former  source  into  the  Gulf  of  Pe- 
chele,  through  Chihli,  northeast  to  its  present  one  along 
the  lowlands  of  Kiangsu.  In  our  view  of  the  chronology 
of  the  Bible,  as  compared  with  the  Chinese,  it  requires  a 
far  greater  constraint  upon  these  records  to  bring  them 
to  refer  to  that  event,  than  to  suppose  they  allude  to  a 
local  disaster  not  beyond  the  power  of  remedy.  These 
remarks  of  Yau  may  also  have  been  put  into  their  pres- 
ent shape  by  Confucius  nearly  seventeen  centuries  after- 
wards, and  it  may  be  supposed,  without  militating  against 
their  authenticity,  that  the  extent  of  the  flood  has  been 
described  so  as  to  do  some  honor  to  the  distinguished 
men  who  remedied  it. 

The  records  in  the  Shu  King  of  Yau  and  Shun,  and 
their  successor  Yu  the  Great,  who  began  to  reign  b.c. 
2205,  are  longer  than  those  of  any  other  persons  who 
lived  prior  to  Abraham.  Those  who  follow  Usher,  re- 
gard Yu  as  being  the  leader  of  the  first  band  of  colonists 
from  the  West  after  the  deluge,  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  years  before, — much  too  short  a time,  however,  for 
the  collecting  of  a large  colony,  when  the  intermediate 
countries  were  barely  settled,  and  men  were  more  inclined 
to  join  their  efforts  in  building  a tower.  The  chronicle 
represents  the  merits  of  Yu  to  have  been  first  exhibited 
in  reducing  the  waters,  and  dividing  the  country  into  nine 
regions,  and  as  he  had  assisted  Shun  in  his  government 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


during  his  lifetime,  he  was  unanimously  called  to  the  va- 
cant dignity,  and  became  the  founder  of  the  Hia  dynasty. 

Chinese  historians  supply  many  details  regarding  the 
conduct  of  Yu  and  Kieh  Kwei,  the  first  and  last  Princes 
of  the  house  of  Hia,  all  the  credible  particulars  of 
which  are  taken  from  the  classics,  particularly  the  Book 
of  Records.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  records  of  the 
reign  of  Yu,  is  an  inscription  traced  on  the  rocks  of 
Hang  shan,  one  of  the  mountains  where  annual  sacrifices 
were  made  by  the  ancient  emperors,  and  preserved  in 
Sl-ngan  fu  in  Shensi  This  inscription  relates  to  the 
inundation,  and  is  thus  given  by  Amyot,  who  regards  it 
as  genuine,  although  it  cannot  be  allowed  to  possess  the 
same  authenticity  in  its  copied  form,  as  the  inscriptions 
at  Karnac  and  Mosul,  which  are  still,  so  to  speak,  in 
situ. 

“ The  venerable  emperor  said,  Oh ! aid  and  coun- 
selor ! Who  will  help  me  in  administering  my  affairs  ? 
The  great  and  little  islets  (the  inhabited  places)  even  to 
their  summits,  the  abodes  of  the  beasts  and  birds  and 
all  beings,  are  widely  inundated.  Advise,  send  back  the 
waters,  and  raise  the  dikes.  For  a long  time  I have 
quite  forgotten  my  family ; I repose  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain  Yohlu.  By  prudence  and  my  labors,  I have 
moved  the  spirits ; I know  not  the  hours,  but  repose 
myself  only  in  my  incessant  labors.  The  mountains 
Hwa,  Yoh,  Tai,  and  Hang  have  been  the  beginning  and 
end  of  my  enterprise  ; when  my  labors  were  completed, 
I offered  a thanksgiving  sacrifice  at  the  solstice.  My 
affliction  has  ceased  ; the  confusion  in  nature  has  disap- 
peared ; the  deep  currents  coming  from  the  south  flow 
into  the  sea;  clothes  can  now  be  made,  food  can  be 


24 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


prepared ; all  kingdoms  will  be  at  peace,  and  we  can 
give  ourselves  to  continual  joy.” 

Whatever  may  be  the  exact  date  of  this  legend,  it  is 
confessedly  a very  ancient  one,  perhaps  the  most  ancient 
of  any  in  the  world,  though  the  tombs  of  Beni-Hassan, 
and  the  obelisk  at  Heliopolis  erected  by  Osirtasen,  are 
nearly  as  old,  and  much  more  trustworthy  in  regard  to 
their  antiquity.  Chinese  historians  do  not  discard  it, 
nor  the  facts  recorded  of  the  princes  of  Hia,  for  those 
t imes  would  then  be  blank ; but  they  receive  them  with 
doubt. 

The  Hia  Dynasty,  founded  by  Yu  the  Great,  existed 
four  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years,  down  to  b.c.  1766, 
under  seventeen  monarchs,  the  records  of  whose  reigns 
are  very  brief.  Among  the  contemporary  events  of  im- 
portance, are  the  call  of  Abraham,  Jacob’s  flight  to 
Mesopotamia,  and  Joseph’s  elevation  in  Egypt. 

The  Shang  Dynasty  began  with  Chingtang,  b.c.  1766, 
and  continued  six  hundred  and  forty-four  years,  under 
twenty-eight  sovereigns,  down  to  b.c.  1122.  This  pe- 
riod was  characterized  by  wars  among  rival  princes, 
and  the  power  of  the  sovereign  depended  chiefly  upon 
his  personal  character.  The  principal  contemporary 
events  were  the  exodus  of  the  Israelites,  their  settle- 
ment in  Palestine,  judgeship  of  Othniel,  of  Deborah,  of 
Gideon,  of  Samson,  and  death  of  Samuel.  The  first 
monarch  of  this  dynasty,  Chingtang,  is  reputed  to  have 
paid  religious  worship  to  Shangti,  the  Supreme  Ruler, 
under  which  name,  perhaps,  the  true  God  was  intended. 

The  Chau  Dynasty  began  with  Wu  Wang,  and  contin- 
ued for  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three  years,  under 
thirty-five  monarchs,  down  to  b.c.  249 ; the  longest  of 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


25 


any  record  in  history.  The  sway  of  many  of  these  was 
little  more  than  nominal,  and  the  feudal  states  increased 
or  diminished  according  to  the  vigor  of  the  monarch,  or 
the  ambition  of  the  princes.  Among  the  feudal  states 
under  the  house  of  Chau,  that  of  Tsin  on  the  northwest 
had  long  been  the  most  powerful,  occupying  nearly  a 
fifth  of  the  country,  and  its  inhabitants  forming  a tenth 
of  the  whole  population. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  burning  of  the  Ancient 
Books,  by  the  founder  of  the  Tsin  Dynasty.  It  occurred 
about  B.c.  212,  and  is  always  referred  to  as  the  great- 
est disaster ; and  with  it  was  coupled  the  slaughter  of 
many  of  the  literati,  by  the  same  monarch. 

The  emperor’s  ministers  had  represented  to  him,  that 
the  scholars  of  his  day  gave  their  time  to  the  study  of 
antiquity,  and  to  eulogizing  the  rulers  and  the  customs 
of  former  times,  instead  of  devoting  their  talents,  as  be- 
came them,  to  studying  the  laws  and  strengthening  the 
power  of  the  government  under  which  they  lived  ; there- 
fore they  advised  that  all  the  books  should  be  burned, 
excepting  only  those  on  medicine,  divination,  and  hus- 
bandry. The  emperor  followed  their  suggestion. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  a complete  destruction  of 
the  ancient  books  of  China  was  effected  by  this  monarch. 

Some  remained  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  in  whole 
or  in  parts,  and  it  was  a work  for  future  scholars  to  col- 
lect, arrange,  and  reproduce  these  works,  some  of  which 
reproduction  may  have  been  made,  perhaps,  partly  by 
the  aid  of  memory  and  partly  by  traditions. 

As  our  only  object  in  this  very  brief  historical  sketch  ^ 

is  to  prepare  the  reader  in  some  measure  to  understand 
2 


26 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


the  character  of  the  times  in  which  those  personages 
lived  who  are  referred  to  in  this  volume,  and  to  know 
what  portion  of  the  world  they  lived  in,  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  bring  down  the  history  to  a later  period 
than  that  when  Confucius  and  his  principal  disciples 
were  upon  the  stage  ; and  in  order  to  present  a more 
complete  view  of  those  times,  we  have  transferred  from 
the  volumes  of  Dr.  Legge  his  description  of  the  “An- 
cient Empire  of  China.” 


THE  ANCIENT  EMPIRE  OF  CHINA. 


ENTRANCE  OF  THE  CHINESE  INTO  CHINA OTHER  EARLY 

SETTLERS — GROWTH  OF  THE  TRICE  INTO  A NATION — 

RELIGION  AND  SUPERSTITIONS FORM  AND  ISSUES  OF 

THE  GOVERNMENT. 

About  two  thousand  years  before  our  Christian  era, 
the  Chinese  tribe  first  appeared  in  the  country  where  it 
has  since  increased  so  greatly.  It  then  occupied  a small 
extent  of  territory,  on  the  east  and  north  of  the  Ho — 
the  more  southern  portion  of  the  present  province  of 
Shan-se.  As  its  course  continued  to  be  directed  to  the 
east  and  south,  (though  after  it  crossed  the  Ho  it  pro- 
ceeded to  extend  itself  westward  as  well)  we  may  con- 
clude that  it  had  come  into  China  from  the  northwest. 
Believing  that  we  have  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Book 
of  Genesis  some  hints,  not  to  be  called  in  question,  of 
the  way  in  which  the  whole  earth  was  overspread  by  the 
families  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  I suppose  that  the  family, 
or  collection  of  families — the  tribe — which  has  since 
grown  into  the  most  numerous  of  the  nations,  began  to 
move  eastward,  from  the  regions  between  the  Black  and 


28 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


Caspian  Seas,  not  long  after  the  confusion  of  tongues. 
Going  on,  between  the  Atlantic  range  of  mountains  on 
the  north,  and  the  Tauric  range,  with  its  continuations, 
on  the  south,  but  keeping  to  the  sunny  and  more  attract- 
ive south  as  much  as  it  could,  the  tribe  found  itself,  at  the 
time  I have  mentioned,  between  40°  and  450  N.  L.,  mov- 
ing parallel  with  the  Yellow  River  in  the  most  northern 
portion  of  its  course.  It  determined  to  follow  the  stream, 
turned  south  with  it,  and  moved  along  its  eastern  bank, 
making  settlements  where  the  country  promised  most 
advantages,  till  it  was  stopped  by  the  river  ceasing  its 
southward  flow,  and  turning  again  towards  the  east. 
Thus  the  present  Shan-se  was  the  cradle  of  the  Chinese 
empire.  The  tribe  dwelt  there  for  a brief  space,  consol- 
idating its  strength  under  the  rule  of  chieftains  who  held 
their  position  by  their  personal  qualities  more  than  by 
any  privileges  of  hereditary  descent ; and  then  gradually 
forced  its  way  east,  west,  and  south,  conflicting  with  the 
physical  difficulties  of  the  country,  and  prevailing  over 
the  opposition  of  ruder  and  less  numerous  neighbors. 

Neighbors?  Yes.  The  arrival  of  the  Chinese  tribe 
had  been  anticipated  by  others.  These  may  have  left 
the  original  seat  of  our  infant  race  in  the  West  earlier 
than  it  ; or  they  may  have  left  it  at  the  same  time.  If 
they  did  so,  the  wave  of  emigration  had  broken  in  its 
progress.  Some  portions  had  separated  from  the  main 
body,  and  found  their  way  into  the  present  province  of 
Shan-se;  and  others,  pursuing  the  same  direction  with  it, 
but  moving  with  more  celerity,  had  then  been  pushed  for- 
ward, by  its  advance,  towards  the  sea,  and  subsequently 
along  the  seaboard,  trying  to  make  good  a position  for 
themselves  among  the  mountains  and  along  the  streams 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


29 


of  the  country.  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  land 
was  peopled  by  these  tribes.  They  were  not  then  living 
under  any  settled  government,  nor  were  they  afterwards 
able  to  form  a union  of  their  forces,  which  could  cope 
with  the  growing  power  of  the  larger  people.  They  were 
scattered  here  and  there  over  the  region  north  of  the  Ho, 
gradually  extending  southward  toward  the  Keang.  Hos- 
tilities were  constantly  breaking  out  between  them  and 
the  Chinese,  over  whom  they  might  gain,  once  and  again, 
temporary  advantages.  They  increased  in  their  degree, 
as  well  as  those,  and  were  far  from  being  entirely  sub- 
dued at  the  end  of  the  Chow  dynasty.  Remnants  of 
them  still  exist  in  a state  of  semi-independence  in  the 
southwestern  parts  of  the  empire.  Amid  the  struggles 
for  the  supreme  power  which  arose  when  one  dynasty 
gave  place  to  another,  and  the  constant  contentions  which 
prevailed  among  the  States  into  which  the  empire  was 
divided,  the  princes  readily  formed  alliances  with  the 
chiefs  of  these  wilder  tribes.  They  were  of  great  assist- 
ance to  King  Woo  in  his  conflict  with  the  last  sovereign 
of  the  dynasty  of  Shang.  In  the  speech  which  he  deliv- 
ered to  his  forces  before  the  decisive  battle  in  the  wild 
of  Muh,  he  addressed  the  “men  of  Yung,  Shuh,  Keang, 
Maou,  Wei,  Loo,  Pang,  and  Poh,”  in  addition  to  his  own 
captains,  and  the  rulers  of  friendly  States.  We  are  told 
that  the  wild  tribes  of  the  south  and  north,  as  well  as  the 
people  of  the  great  and  flowery  region,  followed,  and  were 
consenting  with  him. 

Edward  Biot  calls  attention  to  the  designation  of  the 
early  Chinese  tribe  or  colony  as  “ the  black-haired  peo- 
ple,” saying  that  they  were  doubtless  so  named  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  different  or  mixed  color  of  the  hair  of  the 


30 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


indigenous  race.  But  I cannot  admit  any  “indigenous 
race,” — any  race  that  did  not  come  from  the  same  origi- 
nal center  of  the  world’s  population  as  the  Chinese  them- 
selves. The  wild  tribes  of  which  we  read  in  the  Shoo 
and  Chinese  history,  were,  no  doubt,  black-haired,  as  all 
the  remnants  of  them  are  at  the  present  day.  If  we  must 
seek  an  explanation  for  the  name  of  “ black-haired  peo- 
ple,” as  given  to  the  early  Chinese,  I should  say  that  its 
origin  was  anterior  to  their  entrance  into  China,  and  that 
it  was  employed  to  distinguish  them  from  other  descend- 
ants of  Noah,  from  whom  they  separated,  and  who,  while 
they  journeyed  to  the  east,  moved  in  an  opposite  and 
westward  direction. 

It  was  to  their  greater  civilization,  and  the  various  ele- 
ments of  strength  flowing  from  it,  that  the  Chinese  owed 
their  superiority  over  other  early  settlers  in  the  country. 
They  were  able,  in  virtue  of  this,  to  subdue  the  land  and 
replenish  it,  while  the  ruder  tribes  were  gradually  pushed 
into  corners,  and  finally  were  nearly  all  absorbed  and  lost 
in  the  prevailing  race.  The  black-haired  people  brought 
with  them  habits  of  settled  labor.  Their  wealth  did  not 
consist,  like  that  of  nomads,  in  their  herds  and  flocks. 
Slum’s  governors  of  provinces  in  the  Shoo  are  called 
Pastors,  or  Herdsmen  ; and  Mencius  speaks  of  princes 
generally  as  “ Pastors  of  men  ; ” but  pastoral  allusions 
are  very  few  in  the  literature  of  China.  The  people 
could  never  have  been  a tribe  of  shepherds.  They  dis- 
played, immediately  on  their  settlement,  an  acquaintance 
with  the  arts  of  agriculture  and  weaving.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  grain  to  obtain  the  staff  of  life,  and  of  flax  to 
supply  clothing,  at  once  received  their  attention.  They 
knew,  also,  the  value  of  the  silkworm,  and  planted  the 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


31 


mulberry 'tree.  The  exchange  of  commodities — the  prac- 
tice of  commerce  on  a small  scale — was,  moreover,  early 
developed  among  them.  It  was  long,  indeed,  before  they 
had  anything  worthy  of  the  name  of  a city ; but  fairs 
were  established  at  convenient  places,  to  which  the  peo- 
ple resorted  from  the  farms  and  hamlets  about,  to  barter 
their  various  wares. 

In  addition  to  the  above  endowments,  the  early  Chi- 
nese possessed  the  elements  of  intellectual  culture. 
They  had  some  acquaintance  with  astronomy,  knew  ap- 
proximately the  length  of  the  year,  and  recognized  the 
necessity  of  the  practice  of  intercalation,  to  prevent  the 
seasons,  on  a regard  to  which  their  processes  of  agricul- 
ture depended,  from  getting  into  disorder.  They  pos- 
sessed also  the  elements  of  their  present  written  charac- 
ters. The  stories  current,  and  which  are  indorsed  by 
statements  in  the  later  semi-classical  books,  about  the 
invention  of  the  characters  of  Ts’angkee,  in  the  time  of 
Hwang-te,  are  of  no  value  ; and  it  was  not  till  the  Chow 
dynasty  and  the  reign  particularly  of  King  Seuen  (b.c. 
825-779)  that  anything  like  a dictionary  of  them  was 
attempted  to  be  compiled.  But  the  original  immigrants, 
I believe,  brought  with  them  the  art  of  ideographic  writ- 
ing or  engraving.  It  was  rude  and  imperfect,  but  it  was 
sufficient  for  the  recording  of  simple  observations  of  the 
stars  in  their  courses,  and  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
for  the  orders  to  be  issued  by  the  government  of  the 
time.  As  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  Shang  dynasty, 
B.c.  1765,  we  find  E Yin  presenting  a written  memorial 
to  his  sovereign. 

The  habits  of  the  other  settlers  were  probably  more 
warlike  than  those  of  the  Chinese,  but  their  fury  would 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


exhaust  itself  in  predatory  raids.  They  were  incapable 
of  any  united  or  persistent  course  of  action.  We  cannot 
wonder  that  they  were  in  the  long  run  supplanted  and 
absorbed  by  a race  with  the  characteristics  and  advanta- 
ges which  I have  pointed  out. 

The  chiefs  and  rulers  of  the  ancient  Chinese  were  not 
without  some  considerable  knowledge  of  God  ; but  they 
were  accustomed,  on  their  first  appearance  in  the  coun- 
try, if  the  earliest  portions  of  the  Shoo  can  be  relied  on 
at  all,  to  worship  other  spiritual  beings  as  well.  There 
was  no  sacerdotal  or  priestly  class  among  them  ; there 
were  no  revelations  from  heaven  to  be  studied  or  ex- 
pounded. The  chieftain  was  the  priest  for  the  tribe ; 
the  emperor  for  the  empire  ; the  prince  of  a State  for  his 
people  ; the  father  for  his  family. 

Shun  had  no  sooner  been  designated  by  Yaou  to  the 
active  duties  of  the  government  as  coemperor  with  him, 
tli  an  “ he  offered  a special  sacrifice,  but  with  the  ordi- 
nary forms,  to  God  ; sacrificed  purely  to  six  Honored 
ones  ; offered  their  appropriate  sacrifice  to  the  rivers 
and  hills ; and  extended  his  worship  to  the  host  of 
spirits.”  Subsequently,  in  the  progresses  which  he  is 
reported  to  have  made  to  the  different  mountains,  where 
he  met  the  princes  of  the  several  quarters  of  the  empire, 
he  always  announced  his  proceedings  with  them  by 
“ presenting  a burnt  offering  to  heaven,  and  sacrificing  in 
order  to  the  hills  and  rivers.”  I do  not  refer  to  these 
passages  as  veritable  records  of  what  Shun  actually  did  ; 
but  they  are  valuable,  as  being  the  ideas  of  the  compilers 
of  the  Shoo  King  of  what  he  should  have  done  in  his 
supposed  circumstances. 

The  name  by  which  God  was  designated  was  the 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


33 


Ruler , and  the  Supreme  Ruler,  denoting  emphatically  His 
personality,  supremacy,  and  unity.  We  find  it  constantly 
interchanged  with  the  word  heaven,  by  which  the  idea  of 
supremacy  and  unity  are  equally  conveyed,  while  that  of 
personality  is  only  indicated  vaguely  and  by  an  associa- 
tion of  the  mind.  By  God,  kings  were  supposed  to 
reign,  and  princes  were  required  to  decree  justice.  All 
were  under  law  to  Him,  and  bound  to  obey  His  will. 
Even  on  the  inferior  people  He  has  conferred  a moral 
sense,  compliance  with  which  would  show  their  nature 
invariably  right.  All  powers  that  be  are  from  Him.  He 
raises  one  to  the  throne  and  puts  down  another.  Obe- 
dience is  sure  to  receive  His  blessing,  disobedience  to  be 
visited  with  His  curse.  The  business  of  kings  is  to  rule 
in  righteousness  and  benevolence,  so  that  the  people 
may  be  happy  and  good.  They  are  to  be  an  example  to 
all  in  authority,  and  to  the  multitudes  under  them.  Their 
highest  achievement  is  to  cause  the  people  tranquilly  to 
pursue  the  course  which  their  moral  nature  would  indi- 
cate and  approve.  When  they  are  doing  wrong,  God 
admonishes  them  by  judgments,  such  as  storms,  famine, 
and  other  calamities.  If  they  persist  in  evil,  sentence  goes 
forth  against  them.  The  dominion  is  taken  from  them 
and  given  to  others  more  worthy  of  it. 

The  duke  of  Chow,  in  his  address  on  “ The  Estab- 
lishment of  Government,”  gives  a striking  summary  of 
the  history  of  the  empire  down  to  his  own  time.  Yu  the 
Great,  the  founder  of  the  Hea  dynasty,  “ sought  for  able 
men  to  honor  God.”  But  the  way  of  Kee,  the  last  of  his 
line,  was  different.  He  employed  cruel  men,  and  he 
had  no  successors.  The  empire  was  given  to  T’ang  the 
Successful,  who  “ greatly  administered  the  bright  ordi- 


34 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


nances  of  God.”  By  and  by  T’ang’s  throne  came  to 
Show,  who  was  all  violence,  so  that  “ God  sovereignly 
punished  him.”  The  empire  was  transferred  to  the 
House  of  Chow,  whose  chiefs  showed  their  fitness  for  the 
charge  by  “ finding  out  men  who  would  reverently  serve 
God,  and  appointing  them  as  presidents  and  chiefs  of 
the  people.” 

It  was  the  duty  of  all  men  to  reverence  and  honor 
God  by  obeying  His  law  written  in  their  hearts,  and 
seeking  His  blessing  in  all  their  ways.  But  there  was  a 
solemn  and  national  worship  of  Him  as  ruling  in  nature 
and  providence,  which  could  only  be  performed  by  the 
emperor.  It  consisted  of  sacrifices,  or  offerings  rather, 
and  prayers.  No  image  was  formed  of  Him,  as  indeed 
the  Chinese  have  never  thought  of  fashioning  a likeness 
of  the  Supreme. 

Who  the  “ six  Honored  ones,”  whom  Shun  sacrificed 
to  next  to  God,  were,  is  not  known.  In  going  on  to 
worship  the  hills  and  rivers  and  the  host  of  spirits,  he 
must  have  supposed  that  there  were  certain  tutelary 
beings  who  presided  over  the  more  conspicuous  objects 
of  nature  and  its  various  processes.  They  were  under 
God,  and  could  do  nothing,  excepting  as  they  were  per- 
mitted or  empowered  by  Him  ; but  the  worship  of  them 
was  inconsistent  with  the  truth  that  God  demands  to  be 
recognized  as  “ He  who  worketh  all  in  all,”  and  will 
allow  no  religious  homage  to  be  given  to  any  but  Him- 
self. It  must  have  always  been  the  parent  of  many 
superstitions,  and  it  paved  the  way  for  the  pantheism 
which  enters  largely  into  the  belief  of  the  Chinese  of  the 
present  day,  and  of  which  we  find  one  of  the  earliest 
steps  in  the  practice,  which  commenced  with  the  Chow 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA.  35 

dynasty,  of  not  only  using  the  term  Heaven  as  a synonym 
for  God,  but  the  combination  Heaven  and  Earth. 

There  was  also  among  the  early  Chinese  the  religious 
worship  of  their  departed  friends,  which  still  continues 
to  be  observed  by  all  classes,  from  the  emperor  down- 
ward, and  seems  of  all  religious  services  to  have  the 
greatest  hold  upon  the  people.  The  title  given  in  the 
Shoo  to  Shun’s  minister  of  religion,  is  that  of  “ Arranger 
of  the  ancestral  temple.”  The  rule  of  Confucius,  that 
“ parents  when  dead,  should  be  sacrificed  to  according 
to  propriety,”  was  doubtless  in  accordance  with  a prac- 
tice which  had  come  down  from  the  earliest  times  of  the 
nation. 

The  spirits  of  the  departed  were  supposed  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  circumstances  of  their  descendants, 
and  to  be  able  to  affect  them.  Events  of  importance 
in  a family  were  communicated  to  them  before  their 
shrines  ; many  affairs  of  government  were  transacted  in 
the  ancestral  temple.  When  Yaou  demitted  to  Shun 
the  business  of  the  government,  the  ceremony  took  place 
in  the  temple  of  “ the  accomplished  ancestor,”  the  indi- 
vidual to  whom  Yaou  traced  his  possession  of  the 
supreme  dignity  ; and  while  Yaou  lived,  Shun  on  every 
return  to  the  capitol  from  his  administrative  progresses, 
offered  a bullock  before  the  shrine  of  the  same  person- 
age. In  the  same  way,  when  Shun  found  the  toils  of 
government  too  heavy  for  him,  and  called  Yu  to  share 
them,  the  ceremony  took  place  in  the  temple  of  “ the 
spiritual  ancestor,”  the  chief  in  the  line  of  Shun’s  pro- 
genitors. In  the  remarkable  narrative,  which  we  have 
in  the  sixth  of  the  Books  of  Chow,  of  the  duke  of  Chow’s 
praying  for  the  recovery  of  his  brother,  king  Woo,  from 


36 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


a dangerous  illness,  and  offering  to  die  i:i  his  stead,  he 
raises  three  altars — to  their  father,  grandfather,  and 
great-grandfather ; and  prays  to  them,  as  having  in 
heaven  the  charge  of  watching  over  their  great  descend- 
ant. When  he  has  ascertained  by  divination  that  the 
king  would  recover,  he  declares  that  he  had  got  Woo’s 
tenure  of  the  throne  renewed  by  the  three  kings,  who 
had  thus  consulted  for  a long  futurity  of  their  house. 

This  case  shows  us  that  the  spirits  of  good  kings  were 
believed  to  be  in  heaven.  A more  general  conclusion 
is  derived  from  what  wre  read  in  the  seventh  of  the  books 
of  Shang.  The  emperor  Pwan-Kang,  (b.c.  1400)  irri- 
tated by  the  opposition  of  the  wealthy  and  powerful 
houses  to  his  measures,  and  their  stirring  up  the  people 
also  to  murmur  against  them,  threatens  them  all  with 
calamities  to  be  sent  down  by  his  high  ancestor  T ang, 
the  successful.  He  tells  his  ministers  that  their  ances- 
tors and  fathers,  who  had  loyally  served  his  predeces- 
sors, were  now  urgently  entreating  T’ang,  in  his  spirit- 
state  in  heaven,  to  execute  great  punishments  on  their 
descendants.  Not  only,  therefore,  did  good  sovereigns 
continue  to  have  a happy  existence  in  heaven,  but  their 
good  ministers  shared  the  happiness  with  them,  and 
were  somehow  round  about  them  as  they  had  been  on 
earth,  and  took  an  interest  in  the  progress  of  the  con- 
cerns which  had  occupied  them  during  their  lifetime. 
Modern  scholars,  following  in  the  wake  of  Confucius,  to 
whom  the  future  state  of  the  departed  was  all  wrapped  in 
shadows,  clouds,  and  darkness,  say  that  the  people  of 
the  Shang  dynasty  were  very  superstitious.  My  object 
is  to  bring  out  the  fact,  and  the  nature  of  their  supersti- 
tion. 


ANCIENT  history  of  china. 


37 


There  is  no  hint  in  the  Shoo  nor  elsewhere,  so  far  as 
I am  aware,  of  what  became  of  bad  emperors  and  bad 
ministers  after  death  nor  indeed  of  the  future  fate  of 
men  generally.  There  is  a heaven  in  the  classical  books 
of  the  Chinese ; but  there  is  no  hell ; and  no  purgatory. 
Their  oracles  are  silent  as  to  any  doctrine  of  future 
rewards  and  punishments.  Their  exhortations  to  well- 
doing, and  their  warnings  against  evil,  are  all  based  on 
a reference  to  the  will  of  God,  and  the  certainty  that  in 
this  life  virtue  will  be  rewarded  and  vice  punished.  “Of 
the  five  happinesses,  the  first  is  long  life  ; the  second  is 
riches ; the  third  is  soundness  of  body  and  serenity  of 
mind  ; the  fourth  is  the  love  of  virtue  ; and  the  fifth  is 
doing  or  receiving  to  the  end  the  will  of  heaven.”  There 
is  no  promise  of  rest  or  comfort  beyond  the  grave.  The 
virtuous  man  may  live  and  die  in  suffering  and  disgrace  ; 
let  him  be  cheered — his  posterity  will  reap  the  reward 
of  his  merits.  Some  one,  sprung  from  his  loins,  will  be- 
come wealthy  or  attain  to  distinction.  But  if  he  should 
have  no  posterity — it  never  occurred  to  any  of  the  an- 
cient sages  to  consider  such  a case. 

I will  pass  on  from  this  paragraph  with  a reference  to 
the  subject  of  divination.  Although  the  ancient  Chi- 
nese can  hardly  be  said  to  have  had  the  knowledge  of  a 
future  state,  and  w'ere  not  curious  to  inquire  about  it, 
they  w'ere  anxious  to  know  about  the  wisdom  and  issues 
of  their  plans  for  the  present  life.  For  this  purpose 
they  had  recourse  to  divination.  The  duke  of  Chow  cer- 
tainly practiced  it ; and  we  have  a regular  staff  of  diviners 
among  the  officers  of  the  Chow  dynasty.  Pwan-Kung 
practiced  it  in  the  dynasty  of  Shang.  And  Shun  did  so 
also,  if  we  can  put  faith  in  “ The  Counsels  of  Yu.”  The 


33 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


instruments  of  divination  were  the  shell  of  the  tortoise 
and  the  stalks  of  a certain  grass  or  reed.  By  various 
caustic  operations  on  the  former,  and  by  manipulations 
with  the  latter,  it  was  supposed  possible  to  ascertain  the 
will  of  heaven.  I must  refer  the  reader  to  what  I have 
said  about  the  practice  on  the  seventh  section  of  “ The 
Great  Plan.”  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  the  really 
great  men  of  China  could  have  believed  in  it.  One  ob- 
servation ascribed  to  Shun  is  worthy  of  remark.  He 
tells  Yu  that  “ divination,  when  fortunate,  must  not  be 
repeated.”  I once  saw  a father  and  son  divining,  after 
one  of  the  fashions  of  the  present  day.  They  tossed  the 
bamboo  roots,  which  came  down  in  the  unlucky  position 
for  a dozen  times  in  succession.  At  last  a lucky  cast 
was  made.  They  looked  into  each  other’s  faces,  laughed 
heartily,  and  rose  up,  delighted,  from  their  knees.  The 
divination  was  now  successful,  and  they  dared  not  re- 
peat it ! 

When  the  dignity  of  a chief  advanced  to  that  of  a sov- 
ereign, and  the  Chinese  tribe  grew  into  a nation,  the  form 
which  it  assumed  was  that  of  a feudal  empire.  It  was 
probably  not  until  the  Chow  dynasty  that  its  constitution 
was  fully  developed  and  consolidated,  as  it  is  only  then 
that  we  find  in  the  last  part  of  the  Shoo,  in  the  Ch’un 
Ts’ew,  the  Rites  of  Chow,  and  other  works  of  the  period, 
materials  to  give  a description  to  it.  King  Woo,  we  are 
told,  after  he  had  overthrown  the  last  sovereign  of  the 
line  of  T’ang,  arranged  the  orders  of  nobility  into  five, 
from  duke  downwards,  and  assigned  the  territories  to 
them  on  a scale  proportioned  to  their  different  ranks. 
But  at  the  beginning  of  the  Hea  dynasty,  Yu  conferred 
on  the  chiefs  among  his  followers  lands  and  surnames. 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


39 


The  feudal  system  grew  in  a great  measure  out  of  the 
necessities  of  the  infant  empire.  As  the  rude  tribes 
were  pushed  backwards  from  its  growing  limits,  they 
would  the  more  fiercely  endeavor  to  resist  further  en- 
croachment. The  measure  was  sometimes  taken  of  re- 
moving them  to  other  distant  sites,  according  to  the 
policy  on  which  the  Kings  of  Assyria  and  Babylon  dealt 
with  Israel  and  Judah.  So  Shun  is  reported  to  have 
carried  away  the  San-meaun.  But  the  Chinese  empire 
was  too  young,  and  insufficiently  established  itself,  to 
pursue  this  plan  generally  ; and  each  State  therefore  was 
formed  with  a military  constitution  of  its  own,  to  defend 
the  marches  against  the  irruptions  of  the  barbarians. 

What  was  designed  to  be  the  Central  State  of  the 
empire  was  the  appanage  of  the  sovereign  himself,  and 
was  of  the  same  dimensions  as  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
feudatory  States.  Over  this  he  ruled  like  one  of  the 
other  princes  in  their  several  dominions,  and  he  received 
likewise  a certain  amount  of  revenue  from  all  the  rest  of 
the  country,  while  the  nobles  were  bound  to  do  him  mili- 
tary service  whenever  called  upon.  He  maintained  also 
a court  of  great  ministers,  who  superintended  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  whole  empire.  The  princes  were  little 
kings  within  their  own  States,  and  had  the  power  of  life 
and  death  over  the  people.  They  practiced  the  system 
of  sub-infeudation,  but  their  assignments  of  lands  were 
required  to  have  the  imperial  sanction. 

It  was  the  rule  under  the  Chow  dynasty  that  the 
princes  should  repair  to  the  court  every  five  years,  to 
give  an  account  of  their  administration  of  their  govern- 
ments ; and  that  the  emperor  should  make  a general 
tour  through  the  country  every  twelve  years,  to  see  for 


40 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


himself  how  they  performed  their  duties.  We  read  in 
the  Canon  of  Shun  that  he  made  a tour  of  inspection 
once  in  five  years,  and  that  the  princes  appeared  at  court 
during  the  intermediate  four.  As  the  empire  enlarged, 
the  imperial  progresses  would  naturally  become  less  fre- 
quent. By  this  arrangement  it  was  endeavored  to  main- 
tain a uniformity  of  administration  and  customs  through- 
out the  States.  The  various  ceremonies  to  be  observed 
in  marriages,  funerals  and  mourning,  hospitalities,  re- 
ligious worship,  and  the  conduct  of  hostilities  ; the  meas- 
ure of  capacity,  length,  weight,  etc  ; and  the  written  char- 
acters of  the  language  ; these  were  all  determined  in  im- 
perial prerogative.  To  innovate  in  them  was  a capital 
offense. 

The  above  is  an  imperfect  outline  of  the  feudal  con- 
stitution of  the  ancient  empire  of  China,  which  was  far 
from  enjoying  peace  and  prosperity  under  it.  According 
to  the  received  accounts,  the  three  dynasties  of  Hea, 
Shang,  and  Chow  were  established,  one  after  another, 
by  princes  of  great  virtue  and  force  of  character,  aided 
in  each  case  by  a minister  of  consummate  ability  and 
loyal  devotion.  Their  successors  invariably  became 
feeble  and  worthless.  After  a few  reigns,  the  imperial 
rule  slackened.  Throughout  the  States  there  came  as- 
sumptions and  oppressions,  each  prince  doing  what  was 
right  in  his  own  eyes,  without  fear  of  his  suzerain.  The 
wild  tribes  round  about  waxed  bold,  and  kept  up  a con- 
stant excitement  and  terror  by  their  incursions.  Then 
■would  come  an  exceptional  reign  of  more  than  usual 
vigor,  and  a partial  order  would  be  established  ; but  the 
brief  prosperity  was  only  like  a blink  of  sunshine  in  a 
day  of  gloom.  In  the  Shoo,  the  termination  of  the  dy- 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


41 


nasties  of  Hea  and  Shang  is  attributed  to  the  wickedness 
of  their  last  emperors.  After  a long  array  of  feeble 
princes  there  suddenly  appear  on  the  throne  men  of  gi- 
gantic physical  strength,  the  most  daring  insolence,  and 
the  wildest  debaucheries,  having  neither  piety  nor  truth  ; 
and  in  contrast  with  them  are  princes  whose  fathers  have 
for  several  generations  been  attracting  general  notice  by 
their  righteousness  and  benevolence.  When  heaven  and 
men  can  no  longer  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  tyrants,  the 
standard  of  revolt  is  raised,  and  the  empire  speedily 
comes  under  a new  rule.  These  accounts  are  no  doubt 
much  exaggerated  and  embellished.  Kee  and  Show 
were  not  such  monsters  of  vice,  nor  were  T’ang  and  Woo 
such  prodigies  of  virtue.  More  likely  is  it  that  the 
earlier  dynasties  died  out,  like  that  of  Chow,  from  sheer 
exhaustion,  and  that  their  last  sovereigns  were  weaklings 
like  king  Nau,  rather  than  tyrants. 

The  practice  of  polygamy,  which  was  as  old  as  Yaou, 
was  a constant  source  of  disorder.  A favorite  concubine 
plays  a conspicuous  part  in  the  downfall  of  the  dynasties 
of  Shang  and  Hea,  and  another  signalizes  a calamitous 
epoch  in  that  of  Chow.  In  the  various  States  this 
system  was  ever  giving  rise  to  jealousies,  factions,  usurp- 
ations, and  abominations  which  cannot  be  told.  No  na- 
tion where  polygamy  exists  can  long  be  prosperous  or 
powerful.  In  a feudal  empire  its  operation  must  be 
peculiarly  disastrous. 

The  teachings  of  Confucius  in  the  Chow  dynasty 
could  not  arrest  the  progress  of  degeneracy  and  disso- 
lution in  a single  State.  His  inculcation  of  the  relations 
of  society,  and  the  duties  belonging  to  them,  had  no 
power.  His  eulogies  of  the  ancient  sages  were  only  the 


42 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


lighting  up  in  the  political  firmament  of  so  many  suns 
which  communicated  no  heat.  Things  waxed  worse  and 
worse.  The  pictures  which  Mencius  draws  of  the  misery 
of  his  times  are  frightful.  What  he  auspiced  from  the 
doctrines  and  labors  of  his  master  never  came  to  pass. 
The  ancient  feudal  empire  was  extinguished  amid  uni- 
versal anarchy,  in  seas  of  blood. 

The  character  and  achievements  of  the  founder  of  the 
Ts’in  dynasty  have  not  yet  received  from  historians  the 
attention  which  they  deserve.  He  destroyed  the  feudal 
system  of  China,  and  introduced  in  its  room  the  modern 
despotic  empire,  which  has  now  lasted  rather  more  than 
2,000  years. 

The  ancient  empire  of  China  passed  away,  having 
been  weighed  in  the  balances  and  found  wanting.  Un- 
der the  system  of  rule  which  superseded  it,  the  bound- 
aries of  the  empire  have  been  grandly  extended,  and  the 
people  have  gradually  increased.  Now,  however,  it  would 
seem  to  be  likewise  approaching  its  end.  It  would  not 
have  endured  so  long  but  for  the  position  of  the  country 
at  the  extremity  of  the  Asiatic  continent.  Its  neighbors 
were  not  more  powerful  than  itself,  and  they  were  less 
civilized.  Once  and  again  the  country  has  been  overrun 
and  subjugated  by  the  descendants  of  the  tribes  which 
disputed  the  possession  of  the  soil  with  its  earliest  colo- 
nists ; but  it  has  subdued  them  in  its  turn  by  its  greater 
cultivation,  and  they  have  become  more  Chinese  than 
the  Chinese  themselves.  The  changes  of  dynasty  since 
the  end  of  the  old  empire,  or  classical  period,  have  not 
been  revolutions,  but  only  substitutions  of  one  set  of 
rulers  for  another.  In  the  present  century,  new  rela- 
tions have  arisen  between  China  and  the  rest  of  the 


ANCIENT  HISTORY  OF  CHINA. 


43 


world.  Christian  nations  of  the  West  have  come  into 
rude  contact  with  it.  In  vain  did  it  fall  back  on  the 
tradition  of  the  “ Middle  State,”  and  proclaim  its  right 
to  their  homage.  The  prestige  of  its  greatness  has  van- 
ished before  a few  ships  of  war,  and  the  presence  of  a 
few  thousand  soldiers.  The  despotic  empire  will  shortly 
pass  away  as  the  feudal  one  did,  but  with  less  “ hideous 
ruin  and  combustion.”  It  is  needless  to  soeculate  on 
the  probabilities  of  the  future.  God  will  be  his  own  in- 
terpreter. China,  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  world, 
and  without  the  light  of  revelation,  has  played  its  part, 
and  brought  forth  its  lesson,  which  will  not,  I trust,  be 
long  without  their  fitting  exposition.  Whether  it  is  to 
be  a dependent  or  independent  nation  in  the  future,  to 
be  broken  up,  or  remain  united,  the  first  condition  to 
happiness  and  prosperity  is  humility  on  the  part  of  its 
scholars  and  rulers.  Till  they  are  brought  to  look  at 
their  own  history  and  their  sages,  falsely  so  called,  ac- 
cording to  a true  estimate,  and  to  cease  from  their  blind 
admiration  of  them,  there  is  no  hope  for  the  country. 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


Confucius,  as  a sage  and  religious  teacher,  is  regarded 
by  his  countrymen  as  the  greatest  man  China  has  pro- 
duced. He  was  unquestionably  an  extraordinaiy  man, 
remarkable  in  the  influence  he  exercised  over  his  coun- 
trymen when  alive,  and  the  still  greater  influence  he  has 
ever  since  exercised  by  his  writings.  Confucius  was 
born  about  five  hundred  and  forty-nine  years  before 
Christ,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Loo,  a portion  of  north- 
eastern China,  nearly  corresponding  with  the  modern 
province  of  Shan-tung.  At  that  time  China  was  divided 
into  nine  independent  States,  and  it  was  not  till  three  cen- 
turies later  that  it  was  united  into  one  kingdom.  From 
his  earliest  years,  Confucius  was  distinguished  by  an 
eager  pursuit  of  knowledge.  From  his  father,  who  was 
prime  minister  of  the  State  in  which  he  lived,  he  inher- 
ited a taste  for  political  studies  ; but  being  left  an  orphan 
when  still  but  a child,  he  was  educated  for  the  most 
part  in  retirement  by  his  mother  Ching  and  his  grand- 
father Coum-tse.  The  anecdotes  which  are  related 
of  his  boyhood  tend  to  show  that  he  was  distinguished 
by  those  qualities  most  highly  esteemed  by  his  coun- 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


45 


trymen,  and  afterwards  most  strictly  enforced  by  himself 
— a profound  reverence  for  his  parents  and  ancestors, 
and  for  the  teaching  of  the  ancient  sages.  “ Coum-tse, 
his  grandfather,”  says  one  of  his  biographers,  “ was  one 
day  sitting  absorbed  in  a melancholy  reverie,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  fetched  several  deep  sighs.  The 
child  observing  him,  after  some  time  approached,  and 
with  many  bows  and  formal  reverences,  spoke  thus : 
‘If  I may  presume,  without  violating  the  respect  I 
owe  you,  sir,  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  your  grief, 
I would  gladly  do  so.  Perhaps  you  fear  that  I who  am 
descended  from  you  may  reflect  discredit  on  your  mem- 
ory by  failing  to  imitate  your  virtues.’  His  grandfather, 
surprised,  asked  him  where  he  had  learned  to  speak  so 
wisely.  ‘ From  yourself,  sir,’  he  replied  ; ‘ I listen  atten- 
tively to  your  words,  and  I have  often  heard  you  say 
that  a son  who  does  not  imitate  the  virtues  of  his  ances- 
tors deserves  not  to  bear  their  name.’” 

The  position  which  his  father  had  held  in  the  State 
seems  to  have  inspired  Confucius  at  an  early  age  with  a 
desire  to  distinguish  himself  in  moral  and  political  stud- 
ies, and  prompted  him  to  investigate  the  early  history  of 
his  country.  He  labored  zealously  to  fit  himself  for  fill- 
ing offices  of  high  political  trust ; and  in  his  endeavors 
to  mas  .er  the  learning  of  the  early  sages  he  was  ably 
assisted  by  his  grandfather.  He  married  at  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  is  said  to  have  divorced  his  wife  a few 
years  afterwards,  when  she  had  given  birth  to  a son,  that 
he  might  devote  himself  without  interruption  to  study ; 
but  owing  to  the  general  contempt  of  women  in  the 
East,  the  subject  is  only  slightly  alluded  to  by  his  biog- 
raphers. 


40 


LIKE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


He  entered  upon  political  employment  at  twenty  years 
of  age,  as  “ superintendent  of  cattle,”  an  office  probably 
established  that  the  revenue  might  not  be  defrauded,  and 
necessary  where  much  of  it  was  paid  in  kind.  In  this 
situation,  his  reverence  for  antiquity  and  the  ancients  did 
not  prevent  Confucius  from  attempting  reforms  and  check- 
ing long-established  abuses.  Under  his  administration, 
men  who  were  dishonest  were  dismissed,  and  a general 
inquiry  was  set  on  foot  with  a view  to  the  reformation  of 
all  that  was  unworthy  or  pernicious.  The  activity  of 
Confucius  brought  him  into  favor  with  his  sovereign,  and 
he  was  promoted  to  the  “ distribution  of  grain,”  an  office 
of  which  it  is  not  easy  to  discover  the  nature.  'Whatever 
were  his  duties,  however,  the  energy  that  Confucius  dis- 
played wTas  extremely  distasteful  to  his  colleagues.  He 
was  now  in  the  vigorous  manhood  of  thirty-five,  and  the 
eyes  of  the  nation  were  turned  to  him  as  their  future 
prime  minister,  when  a revolution  occurred  in  the  State, 
which  drove  him  from  power. 

Deprived  of  his  office,  he  wandered  for  eight  years 
through  the  various  provinces  of  China,  teaching  as  he 
went,  but  without  as  yet  making  any  great  impression 
upon  the  mass  of  the  people.  He  returned  to  Loo  in  his 
forty-third  year.  His  enemies,  during  those  eight  years, 
had  gradually  lost  their  authority ; and  he  was  again  em- 
ployed in  political  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility.  Im- 
morality prevailed  at  this  time  to  a frightful  extent.  Con- 
fucius set  himself  up  fearlessly  as  a teacher  of  virtue. 
His  admonitions  were  not  thrown  away ; and  having 
gained  the  approbation  of  the  king  a few  years  after  his 
return  from  exile,  he  was  appointed  prime  minister  with 
almost  absolute  authority.  The  enemies  of  order  and 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


47 


\ irtue  excited  troubles  on  bis  elevation ; but  Confucius 
sternly -repressed  the  symptoms  of  dissatisfaction,  and 
though  of  compassionate  disposition,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  resort  to  capital  punishment  when  necessary  to  rid 
himself  of  his  enemies. 

Reformation  made  rapid  strides  in  the  territories  of 
Loo ; the  nobles  became  more  just  and  equitable ; the 
poor  were  not  oppressed  as  before  ; roads,  bridges,  and 
canals  were  formed.  “ The  food  of  the  people,”  says  his 
biographer,  “ was  the  first  care  ; it  was  not  until  that  had 
been  secured  in  abundance  that  the  revenues  of  the  State 
were  directed  to  the  advancement  of  commerce,  the  im- 
provement of  the  bridges  and  highways,  the  impartial 
administration  of  justice,  and  the  repression  of  the 
bands  of  robbers  that  infested  the  mountains.”  For  four 
years  he  steadily' persevered  in  his  endeavors,  until  Loo 
began  to  be  regarded  as  a model  State  by  the  surround- 
ing kingdoms.  It  was  not  the  interest  of  the  neighbor- 
ing princes  to  permit  this  state  of  things  to  continue. 
One  of  them,  more  crafty  than  the  others,  knowing  the 
weakness  of  the  sovereign  of  Loo,  trained  some  fascinat- 
ing courtezans  after  his  own  views,  and  sent  them  as  a 
present  to  the  voluptuous  prince.  They  were  greedily 
received,  for  the  king  had  long  tired  of  Confucius  and 
his  stern  morality.  The  courtezans  roused  him  and  his 
nobility  to  action.  A strong  party  rose  against  the  sage ; 
and  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven,  he  was  driven  once  more 
from  his  native  State  to  wander  as  a teacher  through  the 
different  provinces  of  China. 

On  leaving  Loo,  Confucius  first  bent  his  steps  west- 
ward to  the  State  of  Wei,  situate  about  where  the  pres: 
ent  provinces  of  Chih-le  and  Ho-nan  adjoin.  He  was 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


4S 

now  in  his  fifty-sixth  year,  and  felt  depressed  and  mel- 
ancholy. As  he  went  along,  he  gave  expression  to  his 
feelings  in  verse  : 

“ Fain  would  I still  look  towards  Loo, 

But  this  Kwei  hill  cuts  off  my  view. 

With  an  axe,  I’d  hew  these  thickets  through : — 

Vain  thought ! ’gainst  the  hill  I naught  can  do.;I 

And  again : 

‘ Through  the  valley  howls  the  blast, 

Drizzling  rain  falls  thick  and  fast 
Homeward  goes  the  youthful  bride 
O’er  the  wild,  crowds  by  her  side. 

How  is  it,  O azure  Heaven, 

From  my  home  I thus  am  driven, 

Through  the  land  my  way  to  trace, 

With  no  certain  dwelling  place  ? 

Dark,  dark,  the  minds  of  men ! 

Worth  in  vain  comes  to  their  ken. 

Hasten  on,  my  term  of  years : 

Old  age,  desolate,  disappears.” 

It  was  only  by  concealment  and  disguise  that  the  life 
of  the  exiled  prime  minister  was  preserved.  For  twelve 
years  he  wandered  from  province  to  province,  at  first 
harassed,  persecuted,  hunted,  but  after  a while  allowed 
to  travel  unmolested.  A faithful  little  band  of  disciples 
collected  around  him  in  his  wanderings,  and  their  num- 
bers, as  time  advanced,  might  soon  be  counted  by  thous- 
ands. Seventy-two  of  these,  we  are  told,  were  particu- 
larly attached  to  him,  but  only  ten  of  them  were  “ truly 
wise.”  With  these  ten  he  finally  retired,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-nine,  to  a peaceful  valley  in  his  native  province, 
where,  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  he  passed  a happy 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


<9 


literary  period  of  five  years,  in  collating  and  annotating 
the  works  of  the  ancients.  These  sacred  books  have 
been  for  twenty-three  centuries  the  fountains  of  wisdom 
and  goodness  to  all  the  educated  of  China.  They  are 
the  works  in  which  every  student  must  be  a proficient 
ere  he  can  hope  to  advance  in  the  political  arena,  and  for 
twenty-three  centuries  have  had  an  incalculable  influence 
on  a third  of  the  human  race. 

His  life  was  peacefully  concluded  in  the  midst  of  his 
friends  at  the  age  of  seventy -three,  in  the  valley  to  which 
he  had  retired  five  years  previously. 

A few  days  before  his  death  he  tottered  about  the  house, 
sighing  out : 


Tai  shan,  ki  tui  hu  ! 

Liang  muh,  ki  kwai  hu  ! 

Chi  jin , ki  wei  hu  ! 

The  great  mountain  is  broken  ! 

The  strong  beam  is  thrown  down ! 

The  wise  man  has  decayed  I 

He  died  soon  after,  leaving  a single  descendant,  his 
grandson  Tsz’sz’,  through  whom  the  succession  has  been 
transmitted  to  the  present  day.  During  his  life,  the  re- 
turn of  the  Jews  from  Babylon,  the  invasion  of  Greece 
by  Xerxes,  and  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the  Persians,  took 
place.  Posthumous  honors  in  great  variety,  amounting 
to  idolatrous  worship,  have  been  conferred  upon  him. 
His  title  is  the  most  Holy  Ancient  Teacher  Kung-tsz’, 
and  the  Holy  Duke.  In  the  reign  of  Rangin',  2x50  years 
after  his  death,  there  were  eleven  thousand  males  alive 
bearing  his  name,  and  most  of  them  of  the  seventy-fourth 
generation,  being  undoubtedly  one  of  the  oldest  families 
3 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


5° 

in  the  world.  In  the  Sacrificial  Ritual  a short  account 
of  his  life  is  given,  which  closes  with  the  following  paean : 

Confucius  ! Confucius  ! How  great  is  Confucius  ! 

Before  Confucius  there  never  was  a Confucius ! 

Since  Confucius  there  never  has  been  a Confucius ! 

Confucius  ! Confucius  ! How  great  is  Confucius  ! 

That  peaceful  valley  in  which  he  died  has  been  for  all 
succeeding  ages  a sacred  spot — a place  of  pilgrimage  for 
the  learned  and  the  superstitious  ; and  the  Chinese  of 
1867,  amid  conflicting  Buddhism,  Tauism,  and  Roman 
Catholicism,  still  point  with  reverence  to  the  tomb  of 
their  great  sage  in  the  province  of  Shan-tung. 

In  his  manner  of  teaching,  Confucius  was  strikingly 
contrasted  with  the  other  great  religious  teachers  of 
Asia — Gotarna,  Buddha,  Zoroaster,  and  Mohammed.  He 
made  no  pretensions  to  universal  knowledge  or  external 
r inspiration.  “ I was  not  born,”  said  he  to  his  disciples, 
“ endowed  with  all  knowledge.  I am  merely  a man  who 
loves  the  ancients,  and  who  do  all  I can  to  arrive  at 
truth.”  On  particular  points  of  religious  and  other 
knowledge  he  was  equally  frank  in  his  confessions  of  ig- 
norance. Having  been  asked,  for  instance,  by  his  disci- 
, pies,  how  superior  spirits  might  be  acceptably  worshiped, 
he  candidly  answered  that  he  did  not  know.  On  another 
occasion,  when  asked  what  death  was,  he  gave  the  mem- 
orable answer:  “When  I know  not  the  nature  of  life,  how 
shall  I inform  you  what  death  is  ? ” 

In  his  precepts,  as  his  disciples  have  handed  them 
down  to  us,  there  is  nothing  austere  or  repulsive  • no 
attempt  whatever  made  to  bind  down  the  minds  of  his 
followers  to  any  rigidly  ascetic  rule  of  his  own.  On  the 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


51 


contrary,  he  desired  them  to  be  open  to  every  enlivening 
and  ennobling  idea,  to  practice  singing  and  music,  to 
cultivate  and  reverence  the  sublime,  to  open  their  hearts 
to  the  influence  of  joy — in  short,  by  every  means  con- 
sistent with  virtue,  to  render  their  existence  happy. 

Simple  and  natural  as  he  was,  however,  in  his  manner 
of  life  and  method  of  teaching,  he  himself  informs  us,  in 
a saying  recorded  by  one  of  his  disciples,  that  he  was 
not  understood  by  his  age. 

The  leading  features  of  the  philosophy  of  Confucius 
are,  subordination  to  superiors,  and  kind,  upright  deal- 
ing with  our  fellow  men  ; destitute  of  all  reference  to  an 
unseen  power  to  whom  all  men  are  accountable,  they 
look  only  to  this  world  for  their  sanctions,  and  make  the 
monarch  himself  only  partially  amenable  to  a higher  tri- 
bunal. From  the  duty,  honor  and  obedience  owed  by  a 
child  to  his  parents,  he  proceeds  to  inculcate  the  obliga- 
tions of  wives  to  their  husbands,  subjects  to  their  prince,, 
and  ministers  to  their  king,  together  with  all  the  obliga- 
tions arising  from  the  various  social  relations.  Political 
morality  must  be  founded  on  private  rectitude,  and  the 
beginning  of  all  real  advance,  in  his  opinion,  was  com- 
prised in  nosce  teipsum.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  among 
much  that  is  commendable,  there  are  a few  exceptionable 
dogmas  among  his  tenets ; but  compared  with  the  pre- 
cepts of  Grecian  and  Roman  sages,  the  general  tendency 
of  his  writings  is  good,  while  in  their  general  adaptation 
to  the  society  in  which  he  lived,  and  their  eminently 
practical  character,  they  exceed  those  of  Western  philos- 
ophers. He  did  not  deal  much  in  sublime  and  unattain- 
able descriptions  of  virtue,  but  rather  taught  how  the  j 
common  intercourse  of  life  was  to  be  maintained,  how 


52 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


children  should  conduct  themselves  towards  their  pa- 
rents, when  a man  should  enter  an  office,  when  to  marry, 
etc.,  which,  although  they  may  seem  somewhat  trifling  to 
us,  were  probably  well  calculated  for  the  times  and  peo- 
ple among  whom  he  lived. 

The  variety  and  minuteness  of  his  instructions  for  the 
nurture  and  education  of  children,  the  stress  he  lays  upon 
filial  duty,  the  detail  of  etiquette  and  conduct  he  gives  for 
the  intercourse  of  all  classes  and  ranks  in  society,  char- 
acterize his  writings  from  those  of  all  philosophers  in 
other  countries ; who,  comparatively  speaking,  gave  small 
thought  to  the  education  of  the  young.  A notable  feature 
of  the  Chinese  classics,  as  compared  with  the  classical 
writings  of  Grecian  and  Roman  genius,  must  not  be  over- 
looked ; which  is,  their  freedom  from  descriptions  of 
impurity  and  licentiousness,  and  allusions  to  whatever 
debases  and  vitiates  the  heart.  Chinese  literature  con- 
tains enough,  indeed,  to  pollute  even  the  mind  of  a 
heathen,  but  its  scum  has  become  the  sediment ; and 
little  or  nothing  can  be  found  in  the  writings  which  are 
most  highly  prized,  which  will  not  bear  perusal  by  any 
person  in  any  country.  Ever)-  one  in  the  least  acquainted 
with  the  writings  of  Hindu,  Greek,  and  Roman  poets, 
knows  the  glowing  descriptions  of  the  amours  and  ob- 
scenities of  gods  and  goddesses  which  fill  their  pages, 
and  the-  purity  of  the  Chinese  canonical  books  in  this 
respect  must  be  considered  as  remarkable. 

In  his  instructions,  he  improved  passing  events  to 
afford  useful  lessons,  and  some  of  those  recorded  are  at 
least  ingenious.  Observing  a fowler  one  day  sorting  his 
birds  into  different  cages,  he  said,  “ I do  not  see  any  old 
birds  here ; where  have  you  put  them  ?”  “ The  old  birds,” 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


53 


replied  the  fowler,  “ are  too  wary  to  be  caught ; they  are 
on  the  lookout,  and  if  they  see  a net  or  cage,  far  from 
falling  into  the  snare,  they  escape  and  never  return. 
Those  young  ones  which  are  in  company  with  them  like- 
wise escape,  but  only  such  as  separate  into  a flock  by 
themselves  and  rashly  approach  are  the  birds  I take.  If 
perchance  I catch  an  old  bird,  it  is  because  he  follows 
the  young  ones.”  “ You  have  heard  him,”  observed  the 
sage,  turning  to  his  disciples  ; “ the  words  of  this  fowler 
afford  us  matter  for  instruction.  The  young  birds  escape  * 
the  snare  only  when  they  keep  with  the  old  ones,  the  old 
ones  are  taken  when  they  follow  the  young:  it  is  thus 
with  mankind.  Presumption,  hardihood,  want  of  fore- 
thought and  inattention,  are  the  principal  reasons  why 
young  people  are  led  astray.  Inflated  with  their  small 
attainments,  they  have  scarcely  made  a commencement 
in  learning  before  they  think  they  know  everything ; 
they  have  scarcely  performed  a few  common  virtuous 
acts,  and  straight  they  fancy  themselves  at  the  height  of 
wisdom.  Under  this  false  impression,  they  doubt  noth- 
ing, hesitate  at  nothing,  pay  attention  to  nothing ; they 
rashly  undertake  acts  without  consulting  the  aged  and 
experienced,  and  thus  securely  following  their  own  no- 
tions, they  are  misled  and  fall  into  the  first  snare  laid 
for  them.  If  you  see  an  old  man  of  sober  years  so  badly 
advised  as  to  be  taken  with  the  sprightliness  of  a youth, 
attached  to  him,  and  thinking  and  acting  with  him,  he  is 
led  astray  by  him,  and  soon  taken  in  the  same  snare. 
Do  not  forget  the  answer  of  the  fowler.” 

Once,  when  looking  at  a stream,  he  compared  its  cease- 
less current  to  the  transmission  of  good  doctrine  through 
succeeding  generations ; and  as  one  race  had  received  it, 


54 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


they  should  hand  it  down  to  others.  “ Do  not  imitate  those 
isolated  men  (the  Rationalists)  who  are  wise  only  for 
themselves  : to  communicate  the  modicum  of  knowledge 
and  virtue  we  possess  to  others,  will  never  impoverish 
ourselves.” 

The  literary  labors  of  Confucius  consisted,  for  the  most 
part,  of  a revision  of  the  sacred  books,  which  had  been 
from  time  immemorial  regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  the 
sources  of  all  true  wisdom  and  knowledge.  These  he 
pruned  of  many  extravagancies  ; and  in  the  text  as  well 
as  in  the  notes,  stated  his  own  opinions,  and  added  much 
to  the  original  value  of  the  works. 

Of  the  Chinese  Sacred  Books  thus  edited  there  are 
two  classes,  viz : The  Five  Classics,  and  the  Four 
Books. 

The  first  class  consists  of — 

ist.  The  Shoo  King,  the  Book  of  Records.  It  contains 
a plain  historical  narrative  of  the  events  which  occurred 
during  the  first  dynasties  of  the  Chinese  kings.  It  abounds 
in  moral  reflections,  and  appropriate  instructions  as  to  the 
pursuit  and  practice  of  virtue. 

2 d.  The  Yik-Iving,  the  Book  of  Changes.  The  trigrams, 
or  enigmatical  lines  of  Fuk  Hi',  form  the  basis  of  this 
work.  This  Fuk  Hi'  is  claimed  to  be  the  founder  of  the 
Chinese  monarchy,  and  the  date  of  his  reign  is,  by  Chi- 
nese historians,  thrown  back  2750  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era. 

Fuk  Hi  is  reported  to  have  first  discovered  these  trig- 
rams on  the  back  of  a tortoise  or  turtle  which  appeared 
to  him  once  while  walking  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Ho- 
ang Ho.  These  trigrams  are  three  lines ; two  of  them 
being  broken,  by  different  combinations,  sixty-four  varia- 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


55 


tions  are  formed  from  them.  Other  authorities  state  that 
at  first  there  were  eight  lines,  then  these  were  involved 
to  sixty-four. 

3d.  The  Shf  King,  the  Book  of  Odes.  The  number  of 
these  odes  is  three  hundred  and  eleven ; some  selected, 
and  others  composed  by  Confucius,  and  all  of  a patriotic 
and  moral  character. 

“ These  verses,”  said  Confucius,  “ are  as  a speculum, 
offering  to  us  the  contemplation  of  good  and  evil : they 
teach  us  to  serve  our  parents  at  home,  and  our  king 
abroad.” 

Respecting  the  Book  of  Odes,  Confucius  said  : “ My 
children,  why  do  you  not  study  the  Book  of  Poetry? 
The  odes  serve  to  stimulate  the  mind.  They  may  be 
used  for  purposes  of  self-contemplation.  They  teach 
the  art  of  sociability.  They  show  how  to  regulate  feel- 
ings of  resentment.  From  them  you  learn  the  more  im- 
mediate duty  of  serving  one’s  father,  and  the  remoter  one 
of  serving  one’s  prince.  From  them  we  become  largely 
acquainted  with  the  names  of  birds,  beasts,  and  plants.” 

4th.  The  Lai  Kf,  the  Book  of  Ceremonies.  It  is  a 
collection  by  Confucius  of  the  various  customs  inculcated 
by  former  sages.  In  it  all  the  minutiae  of  daily  life  are 
dwelt  upon,  and  the  proper  mode  of  action  is  prescribed 
under  almost  all  possible  contingencies.  It  gives  direc- 
tions for  all  actions  of  life,  forming  a code  of 'etiquette 
upon  the  polite  behavior  of  men,  their  sitting,  standing, 
eating,  sleeping,  talking,  weeping,  walking,  etc.,  in  all  cir- 
cumstances and  for  all  periods  of  life.  As  has  been  re- 
marked, “ One  has  but  to  read  it  in  order  to  understand 
the  fixedness  and  immobility  of  Chinese  customs for 
the  ceremonies  and  etiquette  in  Chinese  society  of  the 


56 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


present  clay  are  in  most  cases  what  they  were  when  this 
Book  of  'Rites  was  first  published. 

5 th.  The  Chun  Tz’au,  the  Spring  and  Autumn  An- 
nals. The  work  was  so  called,  because  it  was  commenced 
in  the  Spring  and  finished  in  the  Autumn.  It  was  the 
work  of  Confucius’  extreme  old  age,  and  contains  partic- 
ularly a history  of  his  native  State,  Loo,  for  two  hundred 
years.  It  contains  a fuller  account  of  the  political  sys- 
tem he  inculcated  than  any  of  the  other  sacred  books. 

The  Four  Books  consist  of — 

1st.  The  Lun  Yu,  a collection  of  Confucius’  Sayings, 
by  his  disciples. 

2d.  The  Tai  Hole,  a Treatise  showing  how  to  make 
the  thoughts  sincere,  to  correct  the  heart,  to  regulate  the 
family,  to  govern  the  State,  and  thus  produce  concord 
throughout  the  world. 

3d.  The  Chung  Yung,  the  Doctrine  of  the  Mean. 

4th.  A work  bearing  the  name  of  Mencius,  who  here 
attempted  to  gather  and  perpetuate  the  doctrines  of  the 
sage  ; it  is  a philosophical  treatise  on  government  and 
morals. 

Add  to  these  a volume  called  The  Ka  Yu,  the  Family 
Sayings  of  the  sage  ; being  remarks  dropped  by  him 
while  in  the  midst  of  his  family  and  amongst  his  neigh- 
bors. 

The  physical  system  inculcated  by  the  Chinese  philos- 
opher somewhat  resembled  that  of  the  early  Grecian 
sages,  and  was  undoubtedly  in  advance  of  the  opinions 
of  the  age.  The  five  king  or  elements  stand  at  its  base 
— water,  fire,  wood,  metals,  and  earth.  Of  these,  says 
the  Chou-King,  water  flows,  and  is  ever  in  motion ; fire 
burns  and  ascends ; wood  is  crooked  and  straightens  it- 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


57 


self ; the  metals  are  earthy  and  susceptible  of  change ; 
the  earth  is  humid,  and  descends.  Each  of  these  so- 
called  elements  is  symbolized  by  one  or  more  mystical 
lines  placed  in  various  positions.  The  universe,  accord- 
ing to  this  fanciful  theory,  has  been  generated  by  the 
union  of  two  material  principles — a heavenly  and  an 
earthly,  Vang  and  Yin.  The  heaven  and  the  earth  rep- 
resent the  corporeal  substance  of  these  principles  ; their 
intellectual  manifestations  pervade  all  things.  In  conse- 
quence of  its  origin  and  nature,  the  universe  is  destined 
to  be  destroyed  and  reproduced  constantly,  after  count- 
less ages,  in  never-ending  successions.  The  proper  office 
of  the  material  and  heavenly  Yang  is  to  produce,  to  make 
strong  and  to  sustain.  Its  nature  is  firmness,  inflexibil- 
ity, and  perseverance.  What  rises,  what  appears,  what 
produces  or  contains  motion,  exists  from  it.  The  nature 
of  Yin  is  to  give  place  to,  to  fall  to  decay,  to  be  weak, 
opaque,  slow,  inert,  (save  when  receiving  vigor  and  mo- 
tion from  Yang)  to  obey  and  be  obsequious. 

The  heavens  and  the  earth  being  thus  mystically  united 
as  Yang  and  Yin,  the  origin  of  man  appears  to  be  inti- 
mately connected  with  their  union.  “ The  heaven  and 
the  earth,”  says  the  Yik-King,  “ had  a beginning  ; and  if 
that  can  be  said  of  them,  how  much  more  truly  of  man  ?” 
“ After  there  was  a heaven  and  an  earth,  all  material 
things  were  formed  ; male  and  female  appeared ; man  and 
woman.”  We  seek,  however,  in  vain  for  a Creator  in 
the  system.  True,  there  is  Tai  Kik,  the  Primum  Mo- 
bile, and  a mysterious  “ heaven,”  whose  existence  is  de- 
clared to  have  been  prior  to  all  other  existences,  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  material  developments  of  Yang  and  Yin  ; 
but  although  this  mysterious  agency  has  many  of  the 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


58 

characteristics  of  the  Godhead,  he  or  it  is  not  repre- 
sented as  creating. 

The  Chinese  have  this  formula  : 

Tai  Kik,  the  Great  Ultimate  Principle,  produced 
Leang  E,  the  Dual  Principles. 

Leang  E produced  Sz  Tseung,  the  Four  Forms.  Two 
forms  are  heaven  and  earth  ; three  forms  are  heaven, 
earth,  and  man  ; four  forms  are  the  four  cardinal  points 
of  the  compass. 

Sz  Tseung  produced  Pat  Kwa,  the  Eight  Diagrams. 

Pat  Kwa  settled  and  fixed  the  Kin  Kwan,  heaven  and 
earth. 

The  system  of  Confucius  teaches  that  all  men  are  born 
pure,  but  by  the  influence  of  bad  example  they  swerve 
from  the  path  of  rectitude.  He  furthermore  inculcates 
that  man  by  his  own  act,  by  constant  effort  and  watch- 
fulness, may  recover  his  lost  estate  ; and  yet  he  repeat- 
edly asserts  that  he  has  not  .found  an  example  of  a per- 
fect man,  and  confesses  his  own  delinquencies. 

One  of  the  objects  of  his  small  treatise,  entitled  Tai 
Hok,  is  expressly  declared  to  be  “ to  bring  back  fallen 
man  to  the  sovereign  good — to  what  is  perfect.”  “ All 
people  are  naturally  good,”  he  asserts,  “ but  a desire  of 
pleasure  changes  them.”  With  an  earnest  wish  to  de- 
velop “ the  inward  light,”  pure  and  sincere  intentions, 
fixed  determination,  a calm  spirit,  and  much  meditation, 
the  Chinese  teacher  believed  it  quite  possible  for  man  to 
attain  to  this  “ sovereign  good.”  Virtue,  he  divides  into 
two  great  parts  : first , the  reverence  for  Heaven  and  su- 
perior beings,  for  parents  and  those  in  authority,  with 
the  worship  due  to  the  former  class  ; and  secondly , that 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


59 


justice  or  equity  which  consists  in  rendering  to  every  one 
his  due. 

The  tutelary  spirits,  to  whom  Confucius  teaches  that 
worship  is  due,  are  divided  into  two  classes  : the  spirits 
of  mountains,  rivers,  and  other  natural  objects,  and  the 
disembodied  spirits  of  our  ancestors,  to  both  of  which  pro- 
pitiatory sacrifices  are  due.  “ There  is  a Chinese  book,” 
says  M.  de  Guignes,  “ compiled  from  the  writings  of  Con- 
fucius, which  gives  figures  of  the  two  orders  of  spirits,  in- 
forms us  where  they  reside,  and  the  particular  object  for 
which  they  should  be  invoked.”  The  duty  of  filial  obe- 
dience and  reverence  is  inculcated  by  the  Chinese  sage 
with  an  earnestness  unknown  in  any  other  system.  In- 
deed, his  entire  political  system  is  based  solely  on  this 
foundation.  Of  all  crimes,  filial  disobedience  is  the  great- 
est, and  least  expiable.  Even  truth  may  be  sacrificed  by 
the  son  to  hide  the  faults  of  the  father. 

In  his  political  system  the  sovereign  stands  in  a purely 
paternal  relation  to  his  subjects,  and  revolt  or  disobe- 
dience is  under  any  circumstance  a crime.  He  enume- 
rates clearly  and  distinctly  the  duties  both  of  the  sov- 
ereign and  of  the  people  ; but  if  the  sovereign  chooses 
to  be  a tyrant,  his  lieges,  so  far  as  Confucius  teaches, 
have  no  redress. 

Of  the  extraordinary  estimation  in  which  Confucius 
has  been  always  held  by  his  countrymen,  we  scarcely  re- 
quire any  proofs.  Although  he  was  allowed  to  end  his 
days  in  comparative  obscurity,  his  descendants  have  ever 
since  enjoyed,  during  seventy  generations,  the  highest 
honors  and  privileges.  They  are,  indeed,  the  only 
hereditary  nobility  in  the  empire.  They  are  found  prin- 
cipally in  the  neighborhood  of  the  district  in  which  Con- 


6o 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


fucius  lived ; and  it  was  computed,  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  that  they  numbered  11,000  males. 
Through  every  revolution  in  Chinese  history  their  priv- 
ileges and  honors  have  hitherto  remained  intact. 

In  ever}-  city  of  the  empire,  of  the  first,  second,  and 
third  class,  there  is  one  temple  at  least  dedicated  to  Con- 
fucius. The  civil  and  political  rulers — nay,  the  emperor 
himself — are  all  equally  bound  to  worship  there.  The 
service  appointed  for  this  worship  is  similar  to  that  which 
each  family  performs  in  honor  of  its  ancestors  in  their 
“ hall  of  the  ancients.”  A plain  tablet  is  erected  above 
an  altar,  on  which  there  is  a suitable  inscription.  Sweet- 
smelling gums  are  burned  in  the  chamber,  with  frankin- 
cense and  tapers  of  sandal  wood  ; fruit,  wine,  and  flow- 
ers are  placed  upon  the  altar,  and  appropriate  verses 
are  chanted  from  the  Shi  King  in  praise  of  deceased 
worth  and  wisdom.  The  ceremony  concludes  with  an 
address  resembling  a prayer,  delivered  by  the  highest 
dignitary  present. 

In  the  larger  temples  of  Confucius  there  usually  are 
no  images,  but  the  sage  and  his  disciples  are  worshiped 
through  the  medium  of  their  tablets,  which  are  strips  of 
painted  board  standing  upright,  with  the  name  and  titles 
of  the  individual  carved  upon  the  face. 

The  tablets  are  arranged  in  the  following  order  : 

ist.  In  the  center  of  the  main  hall,  and  facing  the 
court,  is  the  tablet  of  Confucius. 

2d.  Four  tablets,  two  at  the  right  and  two  at  the  left 
of  that  of  the  sage,  and  facing  inwards.  These  are  the 
four  most  illustrious  disciples. 

3d.  Farther  in  front  are  ten  tablets,  five  on  either  side. 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


61 


and  facing  inwards.  These  ten  are  for  the  disciples 
next  in  order  for  merit. 

4th.  Arranged  on  either  side  of  a long  room  stretching 
down  in  front  of  the  hall,  are  tablets  of  the  remaining 
fifty-eight  disciples,  twenty-nine  on  either  side. 

Before  each  tablet  is  a stand  for  candles,  incense,  and 
offerings. 

The  sage  is  worshiped  especially  by  literary  men. 
Boys  on  entering  school  are  first  taken  to  the  Confucian 
temple  to  adore  the  world’s  most  illustrious  scholar  and 
holy  man,  and  to  invoke  him  as  a patron. 

The  remarks  of  Confucius  upon  religious  subjects 
were  very  few  3 he  never  taught  the  duty  of  man  to  any 
higher  power  than  the  head  of  the  State  or  family,  though 
he  supposed  himself  commissioned  by  heaven  to  restore 
the  doctrines  and  usages  of  the  ancient  kings.  He  ad- 
mitted that  he  did  not  understand  much  about  the  gods, 
that  they  were  beyond  and  above  the  comprehension  of 
man,  and  that  the  obligations  of  man  lay  rather  in  doing 
his  duty  to  his  relatives  and  society  than  in  worshiping 
spirits  unknown.  “Not  knowing  even  life,”  said  he, 
“how  can  we  know  death?”  and  when  his  disciples 
asked  him,  in  his  last  illness,  whom  he  should  sacrifice 
to,  he  said  he  had  already  worshiped. 

Wise  and  learned  as  was  Confucius,  and  with  all  his 
abstruse  discussions  about  the  Tai  Kik,  the  Yin  and 
the  Yang,  and  the  Chung  Yung,  he  knew  less  about  the 
world  he  lived  in  than  the  merest  child  who  has  learned 
that  “ In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the 
earth  3”  and  as  to  what  might  lie  beyond  the  present 
life,  all  was  unknown. 

He  instructed  kings,  but  his  teachings  lacked  that  ele- 


62 


LIFE  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


ment  which  once  caused  a Roman  governor  to  tremble 
when  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  though  a prisoner 
in  chains,  reasoned  before  him  concerning  those  subjects 
which  cdhstituted  the  distinctive  doctrine  of  his  faith. 

As  there  were  points  of  difference  between  the  doc- 
trines taught  by  the  so-called  holy  man  of  Loo  and  the 
orator  who  once  held  enchained  by  his  eloquence  the 
learned  men  of  Athens,  so  was  there  as  marked  a dif- 
ference in  the  closing  scenes  of  the  lives  of  each. 

One  laments  over 

“ The  strong  mountain  broken, 

The  wise  man  decayed.” 

The  other  exults  in  the  clear  vision  of  that  world  into 
which  he  expected  to  enter  when  this  “ mortal  should 
have  put  on  immortality.” 

That  the  reader  may  see  how  the  disciples  of  Confu- 
cius were  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  sage  whom  they 
styled  “ Master,”  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  he 
spake  of  himself,  we  have  grouped  together  what  we 
found  in  the  Analects  on  these  subjects,  and  have  placed 
them  first  in  our  selections  from  the  Four  Books,  that 
they  may  be  read  in  connection  with  the  life  of  Confu- 
cius. They  are  : 

ist.  Remarks  by  his  disciples  on  Ins  character,  doc- 
trines, and  habits. 

...  s 

2d.  What  Confucius  said  of  himself. 

3d.  An  Eulogium,  in  which  is  recorded  by  admiring 
disciples  everything  that  might  help  to  keep  the  memory 
of  the  master  fresh  in  their  minds. 


THE  FOUR  BOOKS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

These  are  sometimes  called  the  Four  Books  of  the  Four 
Philosophers.  They  comprise  : ist,  the  Lun  Yu,  or  An- 
alects, chiefly  occupied  with  the  sayings  of  Confucius ; 
2d,  the  Tai  Hok,  (or  Tai  Pleok)  the  Great  Learning, 
now  commonly  attributed  to  Tsang  Sin,  a disciple  of  the 
sage ; 3d,  the  Chung  Yung,  or  Doctrine  of  the  Mean, 
ascribed  to  Kung  Keih,  the  grandson  of  Confucius  ; 4th, 
the  works  of  Mencius.  But  all  these  disciples  of  Con- 
fucius delight  to  honor  their  master,  and  credit  him  largely 
with  the  sayings  which  the}-  have  recorded. 

A peculiarity  of  all  these  teachers  is,  that  they  did  not 
generally  lay  claim  to  the  honor  of  originality'  in  the 
lessons  they  gave  : they  profess  rather  that  what  they 
taught  were  the  doctrines  of  their  wise  princes  and  divine 
emperors  of  the  primitive  ages  ; they  enforce  their  coun- 
sels by  citing  the  examples  of  wisdom  and  virtue  of  the 
early  times.  Mencius,  as  the  reader  will  see  at  the  close 
of  his  book,  tells  from  whom  his  doctrines  were  derived, 
and  through  how  long  a term  of  years  they  had  de- 


64 


INTRODUCTION. 


scended  till  they  came  to  him.  Confucius,  Mencius, 
and  perhaps  some  of  their  disciples,  were  peripatetic 
philosophers.  That  system  of  lectures,  or  traveling 
teachers,  has  been,  in  some  respects,  adopted  in  our 
country  during  recent  years.  Throughout  China,  at  the 
present  time,  there  are  professional  readers,  who  go 
about  from  place  to  place  ; and  'wherever  an  audience 
can  be  gathered,  they  read  or  chant  portions  of  the  an- 
cient histories  or  of  the  odes.  They  are  paid  by  volun- 
tary contributions. 

Our  selections  from  the  Four  Books,  as  stated  in  the 
Preface,  are  from  Dr.  Legge’s  translation ; and  in  trans- 
ferring them  we  have  followed  his  copy;  the  render- 
ing, the  italics,  and  the  pointing  are  his.  The  italics 
generally,  but  not  quite  universally,  designate  such 
words  as  had  to  be  supplied  in  order  to  give  a smooth 
rendering  into  English. 

In  our  choice  of  matter  we  have  aimed  to  take  such 
as  might  easily  be  comprehended  by  the  general  reader  ; 
but  we  are  aware  that  many  admirers  of  the  Four  Books 
will  be  disappointed  in  not  finding  some  passages  which 
they  have  regarded  as  remarkable  for  beauty  and  force. 
We  confess  that  wre  have  left  undisturbed  many  portions 
as  full  of  excellence  as  any  wTe  have  taken ; sometimes 
because  we  had  already  selected  sufficient  to  give  the 
author's  view  on  a given  subject,  and  sometimes  because 
the  passage,  in  order  to  be  appreciated,  needed  a closer 
study  than  the  general  reader  might  be  willing  to  devote 
to  it ; and  even  with  some  of  the  sentences  which  we  have 
quoted  this  is  the  case  ; a careful  reading  is  necessary  in 
order  to  come  at  the  full  meaning  of  the  author. 

One  feature  of  Chinese  composition  is  its  sententious 


INTRODUCTION'. 


65 


style — laconic  expressions  ; and  the  beauty  and  force  of 
these  are  often  greatly  marred,  if  not  entirely  spoiled, 
by  a translation.  Especially  is  this  true  concerning  the 
translation  of  their  proverbs  and  maxims.  Were  we  to 
make  any  criticism  on  the  translation  before  us,  we 
would  say  that  it  is  put  into  too  good  English.  A trans- 
lation following  the  Chinese  idiom  more  closely,  and 
using  fewer  words,  would  often  have  presented  the  idea 
with  more  energy  and  point. 

The  ancient  emperors  Yaou,  and  Shun,  and  Yu  are 
often  mentioned.  The  reader  will  refresh  his  mind  as 
to  who  they  were  by  referring  back  to  the  historical 
sketch.  Without  denying  that  they  were  real  person- 
ages, yet  doubtless  the  Chinese  sages,  considering  their 
vocation  as  teachers,  took  some  license,  and  embellished 
their  characters  somewhat,  clothing  these  individuals 
with  attributes  which,  in  their  estimation,  perfectly  wise 
and  good  emperors  ought  to  possess  ; and  having  thus 
clothed  them  they  held  them  up  for  imitation,  and  in  all 
their  exhortations  to  kings  and  princes  referred  to  what 
the  divine  rulers  of  ancient  times  said  and  did. 

Students  in  the  Chinese  language  may  perhaps  be  an- 
noyed in  finding  in  different  parts  of  the  volume  so 
many  systems  of  pronunciation  and  spelling.  This 
arises  from  the  fact  that  our  quotations  are  from  transla- 
tions made  by  men  of  different  nationalities,  at  different 
times,  and  living  in  different  parts  of  the  Chinese  empire. 
Except  where  there  has  been  an  obvious  mistake  or  mis- 
print, we  have  transferred  the  passage  in  the  translator’s 
own  style  of  spelling  and  pronunciation. 

In  order  to  present  the  sayings  of  the  sages  grouped 
together  under  their  appropriate  heads,  we  are  aware 


66 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


that  occasionally  passages  will  occur,  one  part  of  which 
may  appear  to  belong  to  one  chapter,  the  other  part  to 
another  chapter  ; but  considering  the  object  we  have  had 
in  view,  our  friends  amongst  the  Chinese  critics  will  for- 
give this  seeming  violence  done  to  the  text. 


BOOK  I. 

THE  LUN  YU,  OR  CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 

As  arranged  in  the  Four  Books  in  the  Chinese,  the 
Lun  Yu  is  the  third  in  order,  between  the  Chung  Yung 
and  Mencius  ; but  we  see  no  important  objection  to  fol- 
lowing here  the  order  chosen  by  Dr.  Legge  in  his  trans- 
lation. 

The  Analects  are  discourses  and  dialogues  ; that  is, 
discourses  and  discussions  of  Confucius  with  his  disci- 
ples and  others  on  various  topics,  and  his  replies  to 
their  inquiries.  There  are,  however,  in  the  book  many 
sayings  of  the  disciples  themselves. 

The  account  given  of  this  book  is,  that  after  the  death 
of  the  sage  his  disciples  collected  together,  and  compar- 
ed the  memoranda  of  his  conversations  which  they  had 
severally  preserved,  and  then  digested  and  arranged 
them,  and  gave  them  the  title  of  Lun  Yu,  or  Digested 
Conversations. 


WHAT  THE  DISCIPLES  SAY  OF  CONFUCIUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

WHAT  THE  DISCIPLES  OF  CONFUCIUS  SAY 
OF  THEIR  MASTER. 

Tsze-k’in  asked  Tsze-kung,  saying,  “ When  our  Master 
comes  to  any  country,  he  does  not  fail  to  learn  all  about 
its  Government.  Does  he  ask  his  information,  or  is  it 
given  to  him  ?” 

Tsze-kung  said,  “ Our  Master  is  benign,  upright,  cour- 
teous, temperate,  and  complaisant,  and  thus  he  gets  his 
information.  The  Master’s  mode  of  asking  information! 
Is  it  not  different  from  that  of  other  men  ?” 

Some  one  said,  “ Who  will  say  that  the  son  of  the  man 
of  Tsovv  knows  the  rules  of  propriety  ? He  has  entered 
the  grand  temple,  and  asks  about  everything.” 

The  Master  heard  the  remark,  and  said,  “ There  is  a 
rule  of  propriety.” 

When  the  Master  was  in  Ch’in,  he  said,  “ Let  me  re- 
turn ! Let  me  return ! The  little  children  of  my  school 
are  ambitious  and  too  hasty.  They  are  accomplished 
and  complete  so  far,  but  they  do  not  know  how  to  restrict 
and  shape  themselves.”* 

When  the  Master  was  unoccupied  with  business,  his 
manner  was  easy,  and  he  looked  pleased. 


* Confucius  eyas  thrice  in  Ch’in.  It  must  have  been  the  third 
time,  when  he  thus  expressed  himself.  lie  was  then  over  sixty 
years,  and  being  convinced  that  he  was  not  to  see  for  himself  the 
triumph  of  his  principles,  he  became  the  more  anxious  about  their 
transmission. 


68 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


When  the  Master  was  eating  by  the  side  of  a mourner, 
he  never  ate  to  the  full. 

He  did  not  sing  on  the  same  day  in  which  he  had 
been  weeping. 

The  things  in  reference  to  which  the  Master  exercised 
the  greatest  caution  were — fasting,  war,  and  sickness. 

The  Master’s  frequent  themes  of  discourse  were — the 
odes,  the  history,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  rules  of 
propriety.  On  all  these  he  frequently  discoursed. 

The  subjects  on  which  the  Master  did  not  talk  were 
— extraordinary  things,  feats  of  strength,  disorder,  and 
spiritual  beings. 

The  Master  said,  “ Heaven  produced  the  virtue  that 
is  in  me.  Hwan  T’uy — what  can  he  do  to  me  ? ” 

“ Do  you  think,  my  disciples,  that  I have  any  conceal- 
ments ? I conceal  nothing  from  you.  There  is  nothing 
which  I do  that  is  not  shown  to  you,  my  disciples ; — that 
is  my  way.” 

There  were  four  things  which  the  Master  taught — let- 
ters, ethics,  devotion  of  soul,  and  truthfulness. 

When  the  Master  was  in  company  with  a person  who 
was  singing,  if  he  sang  well  he  would  make  him  repeat 
the  song,  while  he  accompanied  it  with  his  own  voice. 

The  Master  said,  “ The  sage  and  the  man  of  perfect 
virtue ; — how  dare  I ratik  myself  with  him  ? It  may 
simply  be  said  of  me,  that  I strive  to  become  such  with- 
out satiety,  and  teach  others  without  weariness.”  Kung-se 
Hwa  said,  “ This  is  just  what  we,  the  disciples,  cannot 
imitate  you  in.” 

The  Master  being  very  sick,  Tsze-loo  asked  leave  to 
pray  for  him.  He  said,  “ May  such  a thing  be  done  ? ” 
Tsze-loo  replied,  “ It  may.  In  the  prayers  it  is  said, 


WHAT  THE  DISCIPLES  SAY  OF  CONFUCIUS.  69 

* Prayer  has  been  made  to  the  spirits  of  the  upper  and 
lower  worlds.’  ” The  Master  said,  “ My  praying  has 
been  for  a long  time.” 

The  Master  was  mild,  and  yet  dignified ; majestic,  and 
yet  not  fierce  ; respectful,  and  yet  easy. 

The  subjects  of  which  the  Master  seldom  spoke  were 
— profitableness,  and  also  the  appointments  of  Heaven, 
and  perfect  virtue. 

A man  of  the  village  of  Ta-heang  said,  “ Great  indeed 
is  the  philosopher  K’ung  ! His  learning  is  extensive,  and 
yet  he  does  not  render  his  name  famous  by  any  particu- 
lar thing.” 

There  were  four  things  from  which  the  Master  was  en- 
tirely free.  Pie  had  no  foregone  conclusions,  no  arbi- 
trary predeterminations,  no  obstinacy,  and  no  egotism. 

When  the  Master  saw  a person  in  a mourning  dress, 
or  any  one  with  the  cap  and  upper  and  lower  garments 
of  full  dress,  or  a blind  person,  on  observing  them  ap- 
proaching, though  they  were  younger  than  himself,  he 
would  rise  up,  and  if  he  had  to  pass  by  them,  he  would 
do  so  hastily.* 

Shuh-sun  Woo-shuh  having  spoken  revilingly  of  Chung- 
ne,f  Tsze-Kung  said,  “ It  is  of  no  use  doing  so.  Chung-ne 
cannot  be  reviled.  The  talents  and  virtues  of  other  men 
are  hillocks  and  mounds,  which  may  be  stept  over. 
Chung-ne  is  the  sun  or  moon,  which  it  is  not  possible  to 
step  over.  Although  a man  may  wish  to  cut  himself  off 
from  the  sage,  what  harm  can  he  do  to  the  sun  or 


* Such  consideration  did  he  show  to  those  who  were  in  mourn- 
ing, and  suffering  misfortunes. 

t Chung-ne  was  the  marriage  name  of  Confucius. 


7° 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


moon  ? He  only  shows  that  he  does  not  know  his  own 
capacity.”* 

“ Our  Master  cannot  be  attained  to,  just  in  the  same 
way  as  the  heavens  cannot  be  gone  up  to  by  the  steps  of 
a stair.” 

“ Were  our  Master  in  the  position  of  the  prince  of  a 
State,  or  the  chief  of  a Family,  we  should  find  verified 
the  description  which  has  been  given  of  a sage’s  rule : — he 
■would  plant  the  people,  and  forthwith  they  would  be  es- 
tablished ; he  would  lead  them  on,  and  forthwith  they 
would  follow  him  ; he  would  make  them  happy,  and  forth- 
with multitudes  would  resort  to  his  dominions ; he  would 
stimulate  them,  and  forthwith  they  would  be  harmonious. 
While  he  lived,  he  would  be  glorious.  When  he  died,  he 
would  be  bitterly  lamented.  How  is  it  possible  for  him 
to  be  attained  to  ? ” 

Formerly,  when  Confucius  died,  after  three  years  had 
elapsed,  his  disciples  collected  their  baggage,  and  pre- 
pared to  return  to  their  several  homes.  But  on  entering 
to  take  their  leave  of  Tsze-kung,  as  they  looked  towards 
one  another,  they  wailed,  till  they  all  lost  their  voices. 
After  this  they  returned  to  their  homes,  but  Tsze-kung 
went  back,  and  built  a house  for  himself  on  the  altar-, 
ground,  where  he  lived  alone  other  three  years,  before  he 
returned  home. 

WHAT  CONFUCIUS  SAYS  OF  HIMSELF. 

The  Master  said,  “ I will  not  be  afflicted  at  men’s  not 


* Confucius  is  like  the  sun  or  moon,  high  above  the  reach  of  de- 
preciation. 


WHAT  CONFUCIUS  SAYS  OF  HIMSELF. 


71 


knowing  me ; I will  be  afflicted  that  I do  not  know 
men.” 

“ At  fifteen,  I had  my  mind  bent  on  learning. 

“ At  thirty,  I stood  firm. 

“ At  forty,  I had  no  doubts. 

“ At  fifty,  I knew  the  decrees  of  Heaven. 

“ At  sixty,  my  ear  was  an  obedient  organ  for  the  recep- 
tion of  truth. 

“ At  seventy,  I could  follow  what  my  heart  desired, 
without  transgressing  what  was  right.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Sin,  my  doctrine  is  that  of  an  all- 
pervading  unity.”  The  disciple  Tsang  replied  “Yes.” 
The  Master  went  out,  and  the  other  disciples  asked, 
saying,  “ What  do  his  words  mean  ?”  Tsang  said, 
“ The  doctrine  of  our  Master  is,  to  be  true  to  the  princi- 
ples of  our  nature,  and  the  benevolent  exercise  of  them 
to  others.  This  and  nothing  more.” 

The  Master  said,  “ A transmitter  and  not  a maker, 
believing  in  and  loving  the  ancients,  I venture  to  com- 
pare myself  with  our  old  P’ang.” 

“ The  silent  treasuring  up  of  knowledge,  learning  with- 
out satiety,  and  instructing  others  without  being  wearied 
— what  one  of  these  things  belongs  to  me  ?” 

“ The  leaving  virtue  without  proper  cultivation ; the 
not  thoroughly  discussing  what  is  learned  ; not  being 
able  to  move  towards  righteousness  of  which  a knowledge 
is  gained  ; and  not  being  able  to  change  what  is  not 
good — these  are  the  things  which  occasion  me  solici- 
tude.” 

“ Extreme  is  my  decay.  For  a long  time  I have  not 
dreamed,  as  I was  wont  to  do,  that  I saw  the  duke  of 
Chow.” 


72 


CONFUtlAN  ANALECTS. 


“ From  the  man  bringing  his  bundle  of  dried  flesh  for 
my  teaching  upwards,  I have  never  refused  instruction  to 

any  one.” 

“ I do  not  open  up  the  truth  to  one  who  is  not  eager 
to  get  knowledge,  nor  help  out  any  one  who  is  not  anx- 
ious to  explain  himself.  When  I have  presented  one 
corner  of  a subject  to  any  one,  and  he  cannot  from  it 
learn  the  other  three,  I do  not  repeat  my  lesson. 

The  Master  said  to  Yen  Yuen:  “When  called  to  office, 
to  undertake  its  duties;  when  not  so  called,  to  lie  ^re- 
tired : it  is  only  I and  you  who  have  attained  to  this. 

“ With  coarse  rice  to  eat,  with  water  to  drink,  and  my 
bended  arm  for  a pillow-I  have  still  joy  in  the  midst  of 
these  things.  Riches  and  honors  acquired  by  unright- 
eousness, are  to  me  as  a floating  cloud.  _ 

“ I am  not  one  who  was  born  in  the  possession  of 
knowledge  ; I am  one  who  is  fond  of  antiquity,  and  earn- 
est in  seeking  it  there. 

« When  I walk  along  with  two  others,  they  may  sen 
me  as  my  teachers.  I will  select  their  good  qualities 
and  follow  them— their  bad  qualities,  and  avoid  them. 

« There  may  be  those  who  act  without  knowing  why. 

I do  not  do  so.  Hearing  much,  and  selecting  what  is 
good,  and  following  it ; seeing  much,  and  keeping  it  m 
memory  : this  is  the  second  style  of  knowledge. 

“ I admit  people’s  approach  to  me  without  committing 
myself  to  what  they  may  do  when  they  have  retired. 
Why  must  one  be  so  severe?  If  a man  purify  himself  to 
wait  upon  me,  I receive  him  so  purified,  without  guaran- 
teeing his  past  conduct.  ,, 

“ If  I have  any  errors,  people  are  sure  to  know  them. 


« T 


In 


L uavc  any  J r i , . 

letters,  I am,  perhaps,  equal  to  other  men,  but 


WHAT  CONFUCIUS  SAYS  OF  HIMSELF. 


73 


the  character  of  the  superior  man,  carrying  out  in  his  con- 
duct what  he  professes,  is  what  I have  not  yet  attained 
to.” 

“ If  Heaven  had  wished  to  let  the  cause  of  truth  per- 
ish, then  I,  a future  mortal,  should  not  have  had  such  a 
relation  to  that  cause.  While  Heaven  does  not  let  the 
cause  of  truth  perish,  what  can  the  people  of  K’wang  do 
to  me  ? ”* 

A high  officer  asked  Tsze-Kung  saying,  “ May  we  not 
say  that  your  master  is  a sage  ? How  various  is  his  abil- 
ity ! ” 

Tsze-Kung  said,  “ Certainly  Heaven  has  endowed  him 
unlimitedly.  He  is  about  a sage.  And,  moreover,  his 
ability  is  various.” 

The  Master  heard  of  the  conversation  and  said,  “ Does 
the  high  officer  know  me  ? When  I was  young  my  con- 
dition was  low,  and  therefore  I acquired  my  ability  in 
many  things,  but  they  were  mean  matters.  Must  the  su- 
perior man  have  such  variety  of  ability  ? He  does  not 
need  variety  of  ability.” 

Laou  said,  “ The  Master  said,  * Having  no  official  em- 
ployment, I acquired  many  arts.’  ” 

The  Master  said,  “ Am  I indeed  possessed  of  knowl- 
edge ? I am  not  knowing.  But  if  a mean  person,  who 
appears  quite  empty-like,  ask  anything  of  me,  I set  it 
forth  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  exhaust  it.” 

“ Abroad,  to  serve  the  high  ministers  and  officers  ; at 
home,  to  serve  one’s  father  and  elder  brothers ; in  all 


* He  here  identifies  himself  with  the  line  of  the  great  sages,  to 
whom  Heaven  has  intrusted  the  instruction  of  men.  We  are  also 
reminded  of  the  saying,  “ Man  is  immortal  till  his  work  is  done.” 

4 


74 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


duties  to  the  dead,  not  to  dare  not  to  exert  one’s  self ; 
and  not  to  be  overcome  of  wine : what  one  of  these 
things  do  I attain  to  ? ” 

“ I will  not  be  concerned  at  men’s  not  knowing  me  ; 
I will  be  concerned  at  my  own  want  of  ability.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Alas  ! there  is  no  one  that  knows 
me.” 

Tsze-Kung  said,  “ What  do  you  mean  by  thus  saying, 
that  no  one  knows  you  ? ” The  Master  replied,  “ I do 
not  murmur  against  Heaven.  I do  not  grumble  against 
men.  My  studies  lie  low,  and  my  penetration  rises  high. 
But  there  is  Heaven  ; — that  knows  me  ! ” 

The  Master  having  visited  Nan-tsze,  Tsze-loo  was  dis- 
pleased, on  which  the  Master  swore,  saying,  “ 'Wherein 
I have  done  improperly,  may  Heaven  reject  me ! may 
Heaven  reject  me  ! ”* 

The  duke  of  She  informed  Confucius,  saying,  “Among 
us  here  there  are  those  who  may  be  styled  upright  in 
their'  conduct.  If  their  father  have  stolen  a sheep,  they 
will  bear  witness  to  the  fact.” 

Confucius  said,  “Among  us,  in  our  part  of  the  country, 
those  who  are  upright  are  different  from  this.  The 
father  conceals  the  misconduct  of  the  son,  and  the  son 
conceals  the  misconduct  of  the  father.  Uprightness  is 
to  be  found  in  this.” 

Keu  Pih-yuh  sent  a messenger  with  friendly  inquiries 
to  Confucius. 

Confucius  sat  with  him  and  questioned  him.  “ What,” 


* Confucius  had  ridden  in  the  chariot  of  Nan-Tsze,  a lewd  wo- 
man, wife  of  the  duke  of  Wei : improper  motives  were  imputed  to 
him,  and  he  here  vindicates  himself. 


EULOGIUM. 


75 


said  he,  “ is  your  master  engaged  in  ? ” The  messenger 
replied  : “ My  master  is  anxious  to  make  his  faults  few, 
but  he  has  not  yet  succeeded.” 

EULOGIUM. 

This  section  contains  hardly  any  sayings  of  Confu- 
cius, but  is  descriptive  of  his  ways  and  demeanor  in  a 
variety  of  places  and  circumstances.  Many  particulars 
are  given,  and  trifling  matters  recorded,  which  writers  of 
biography  in  these  days  would  have  left  out.  It  is  undoubt- 
edly well,  however,  that  we  have  it,  for  by  it  we  perceive 
that  in  ancient  times,  as  well  as  in  later  years,  men  who 
appeared  great  in  public,  when  seen  in  undress,  at  their 
meals,  in  their  bedroom,  did  not  always  seem  so  great. 

We  see  how  a great  mind,  while  it  can  handle  well  great 
subjects,  may  also  have  its  weaknesses  and  superstitions  ; 
and  while  we  perceive  that  in  the  same  person  may 
sometimes  appear  the  marks  of  a sage  and  the  charac- 
teristics of  a child,  we  also  are  reminded  that  human 
nature  of  two  thousand  years  ago  was  the  human  nature 
of  to-day.  While  reading,  we  find  ourselves  musing 
thus  : Such  was  the  greatest  man  that  has  ever  been 
produced  by  that  nation  which  has  not  enjoyed  the 
teaching  and  the  influences  of  the  Christian  Scriptures. 
To  what  is  it  owing  that  our  own  great  men  are  elevated 
above  such  puerilities  as  are  here  ascribed  to  the  man 
whom  four  hundred  millions  of  people  adore  as  a saint  ? 
And  are  not  greatness  and  littleness  to  this  day  charac- 
teristics of  the  nation  who  claim  Confucius  as  their 
teacher  and  example  ? Of  the  traits  which  are  most  ob- 
servable, behold  in  their  merchants,  for  example,  a skill, 


76 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


large  comprehension,  and  boldness  of  adventure  equal  to 
what  is  found  in  merchants  of  any  other  nation  ; but  at 
their  worship,  in  the  consulting  of  omens,  their  dread  of 
spirits  and  devices  to  appease  or  terrify  them,  their 
superstitions,  prejudices,  and  adherence  to  ancient  cus- 
toms, and  punctilious  observance  of  forms  in  social  and 
public  life,  we  observe  a childishness  which  is  astonishing. 

This  section  is  also  valuable  on  account  of  the 
glimpses  which  it  affords  of  customs  amongst  the  ancient 
Chinese  ; and  in  them  we  trace  the  oiigin  of  many  cere- 
monies still  practiced  throughout  China. 


DEMEANOR  OF  CONFUCIUS  IN  HIS  VILLAGE,  IN  TIIE 
ANCESTRAL  TEMPLE.  AND  IN  THE  COURT. 

Confucius,  in  his  village,  looked  simple  and  sincere, 
and  as  if  he  were  not  able  to  speak. 

When  he  was  in  the  prince's  ancestorial  temple,  or  in 
the  Court,  he  spoke  minutely  on  every  point,  but  cau- 
tiously. 

When  he  was  waiting  at  Court,  in  speaking  with  the 
officers  of  the  lower  grade,  he  spake  freely,  but  in  a 
straightforward  manner.  In  speaking  with  the  officers 
of  the  higher  grade,  he  did  so  blandly,  but  precisely. 

When  the  prince  was  present,  his  manner  displayed 
respectful  uneasiness — it  was  grave,  but  self-possessed. 

When  the  prince  called  him  to  employ  him  in  the  re- 
ception of  a visitor,  his  countenance  appeared  to  change, 
and  his  legs  to  bend  beneath  him. 

He  inclined  himself  to  the  other  officers  among  whom 
he  stood,  moving  his  right  or  left  arm,  as  their  position 


EULOGIUM. 


77 


required,  but  keeping  the  skirts  of  his  robe  before  and 
behind  evenly  adjusted. 

He  hastened  forward  with  his  arms  like  the  wings  of 
a bird. 

When  the  guest  had  retired,  he  would  report  to  the 
prince,  “ The  visitor  is  not  turning  round  any  more.” 

When  he  entered  the  palace  gate,  he  seemed  to  bend 
his  body,  as  if  it  were  not  sufficient  to  admit  him. 

When  he  was  standing,  he  did  not  occupy  the  middle 
of  the  gateway.  When  he  passed  in  or  out  he  did  not 
tread  upon  the  threshold. 

When  he  was  passing  the  vacant  place  of  the  prince, 
his  countenance  appeared  to  change,  and  his  legs  to 
bend  under  him,  and  his  words  came  as  if  he  hardly 
had  breath  to  utter  them. 

He  ascended  the  dais  holding  up  his  robe  with  both 
his  hands,  and  his  body  bent,  holding  in  his  breath  also, 
as  if  he  dared  not  breathe. 

When  he  came  out  from  the  audience,  as  soon  as  he  had 
descended  one  step  he  began  to  relax  his  countenance, 
and  had  a satisfied  look.  When  he  had  got  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  steps,  he  advanced  rapidly  to  his  place,  with 
his  arms  like  wings,  and  on  occupying  it  his  manner 
still  showed  respectful  uneasiness. 

When  he  was  carrying  the  scepter  of  his  prince,  he 
seemed  to  bend  his  body,  as  if  he  were  not  able  to  bear 
its  weight.  He  did  not  hold  it  higher  than  the  position 
of  the  hands  in  making  a bow,  nor  lower  than  their  po- 
sition in  giving  anything  to  another.  His  countenance 
seemed  to  change  and  look  apprehensive,  and  he  dragged 
his  feet  along  as  if  they  were  held  by  something  to  the 
ground. 


7S 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


In  presenting  the  presents  with  which  ne  was  charged \ 
he  wore  a placid  appearance. 

At  his  private  audience  he  looked  highly  pleased. 

The  superior  man  did  not  use  a deep  purple,  or  a 
puce  color,  in  the  ornaments  of  his  dress. 

Even  in  his  undress,  he  did  not  wear  anything  of  a 
red  or  reddish  color. 

In  warm  weather,  he  had  a single  garment  either  of 
coarse  or  fine  texture,  but  he  wore  it  displayed  over  an 
inner  garment. 

Over  lamb’s  fur  he  wore  a garment  of  black ; over 
fawn’s  fur  one  of  white ; and  over  fox’s  fur  one  of  yel- 
low. 

The  fur  robe  of  his  undress  was  long,  with  the  right 
sleeve  short. 

He  required  his  sleeping  dress  to  be  half  as  long  again 
as  his  body. 

When  staying  at  home,  he  used  thick  furs  of  the  fox 
or  the  badger. 

When  he  put  off  mourning,  he  wore  all  the  appenda- 
ges of  the  girdle. 

His  under  garment,  except  when  it  was  required  to  be 
of  the  curtain  shape,  was  made  of  silk,  cut  narrow  above 
and  wide  below. 

He  did  not  wear  lamb’s  fur,  or  a black  cap,  on  a visit 
of  condolence. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  month,  he  put  on  his  Court 
robes,  and  presented  himself  at  Court. 

When  fasting,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  have  his 
clothes  brightly  clean,  and  made  of  linen  cloth. 

When  fasting,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  change  his 


EULOGIUM. 


79 


food,  and  also  to  change  the  place  where  he  commonly 
sat  in  the  apartment.* 

He  did  not  dislike  to  have  his  rice  finely  cleaned,  nor 
to  have  his  minced  meat  cut  quite  small. 

He  did  not  eat  rice  which  had  been  injured  by  heat  or 
damp  and  turned  sour,  nor  fish  or  flesh  which  was  gone. 
He  did  not  eat  what  was  discolored,  or  what  was  of  a bad 
flavor,  nor  anything  which  was  not  in  season. 

He  did  not  eat  meat  which  was  not  cut  properly,  nor 
what  was  served  without  its  proper  sauce. 

Though  there  might  be  a large  quantity  of  meat,  he 
would  not  allow  what  he  took  to  exceed  the  due  propor- 
tion for  the  rice.  It  was  only  in  wine  that  he  laid  down 
no  limit  for  himself,  but  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  be 
confused  by  it. 

He  did  not  partake  of  wine  and  dried  meat  bought  in 
the  market. 

He  was  never  without  ginger  when  he  ate. 

He  did  not  eat  much. 

When  he  had  been  assisting  at  the  prince’s  sacrifice, 
lie  did  not  keep  the  flesh  which  he  received  over  night. 
The  flesh  of  his  family  sacrifice  he  did  not  keep  over 
three  days.  If  kept  over  three  days,  people  could  not 
eat  it. 

When  eating  he  did  not  converse.  When  in  bed  he 
did  not  speak. 

Although  his  food  might  be  coarse  rice  and  vegetable 


* This,  together  with  other  statements  of  his  panegyrists,  convey 
the  impression  that  Confucius  might  have  been  somewhat  super- 
stitious as  well  as  nice. 


8o 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


soup,  he  would  offer  a little  of  it  in  sacrifice  with  a grave, 
respectful  air. 

If  his  mat  was  not  straight  he  did  not  sit  on  it. 

When  the  villagers  were  drinking  together,  on  those 
who  carried  staves  going  out,  he  went  out  immediately 
after. 

When  the  villagers  were  going  through  their  ceremo- 
nies to  drive  away  pestilential  influences,  he  put  on  his 
Court  robes,  and  stood  on  the  eastern  steps. 

When  he  was  sending  complimentary  inquiries  to  any 
one  in  another  State,  he  bowed  twice  as  he  escorted  the 
messenger  away. 

Ke  K’ang  having  sent  him  a present  of  physic,  he 
bowed  and  received  it,  saying,  “ I do  not  know  it.  I 
dare  not  taste  it.” 

The  stable  being  burned  down,  when  he  was  at  Court, 
on  his  return  he  said,  “ Has  any  man  been  hurt?”  He 
did  not  ask  about  the  horses. 

When  the  prince  sent  him  a gift  of  cooked  meat  he 
would  adjust  his  mat,  first  taste  it,  and  then  give  it  away 
to  others.  When  the  prince  sent  him  a gift  of  undressed 
meat,  he  would  have  it  cooked,  and  offer  it  to  the  spirits 
of  his  ancestors.  When  the  prince  sent  him  a gift  of  a 
living  animal,  he  would  keep  it  alive. 

When  he  was  in  attendance  on  the  prince  and  joining 
in  the  entertainment,  the  prince  only  sacrificed.  He 
first  tasted  everything. 

When  he  was  sick  and  the  prince  came  to  visit  him, 
he  had  his  head  to  the  east,  made  his  Court  robes  be 
spread  over  him,  and  drew  his  girdle  across  them. 

When  the  prince’s  order  called  him,  without  waiting 
for  his  carriage  to  be  yoked,  he  went  at  once. 


EULOGIUM. 


Hi 


When  he  entered  the  ancestral  temple  of  the  State,  he 
asked  about  everything. 

When  any  of  his  friends  died,  if  he  had  no  relations 
who  could  be  depended  on  for  the  necessary  offices,  he 
would  say,  “ I will  bury  him.” 

When  a friend  sent  him  a present,  though  it  might  be 
a carriage  and  horses,  he  did  not  bow. 

The  only  present  for  which  he  bowed  was  that  of  the 
flesh  of  sacrifice. 

In  bed,  he  did  not  lie  like  a corpse.  At  home,  he  did 
not  put  on  any  formal  deportment. 

When  he  saw  any  one  in  a mourning  dress,  though  it 
might  be  an  acquaintance,  he  would  change  countenance  ■ 
when  he  saw  any  one  wearing  the  cap  of  full  dress,  or  a 
blind  person,  though  he  might  be  in  his  undress,  he 
would  salute  them  in  a ceremonious  manner. 

To  any  person  in  mourning  he  bowed  forward  to  the 
crossbar  of  his  carriage  ; he  bowed  in  the  same  way  to 
any  one  bearing  the  tables  of  population. 

AVhen  he  was  at  an  entertainment  where  there  was  an 
abundance  of  provisions  set  before  him,  he  would  change 
countenance  and  rise  up.* 

On  a sudden  clap  of  thunder,  or  a violent  wind,  he 
would  change  countenance. 

AVhen  he  was  about  to  mount  his  carriage,  he  would 
stand  straight,  holding  the  cord. 

AVhen  he  was  in  the  carriage,  he  did  not  turn  his  head 
quite  round,  he  did  not  talk  hastily,  he  did  not  point  with 
his  hands. 

* “ When  thou  sittest  to  eat  with  a ruler,  consider  diligently  what 
is  before  thee,  and  put  a knife  to  thy  throat,  if  thou  be  a man  given 
to  appetite.” 


32 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION. 


HEAVEN  DECREES,  HELPS,  REWARDS,  PUNISHES. 

“ Death  and  life  have  their  determined  appointments  ; 
riches  and  honors  depend  upon  Heaven.” 

The  Master  said,  “ If  my  principles  are  to  advance, 
it  is  so  ordered.  If  they  are  to  fall  to  the  ground,  it  is 
so  ordered.  What  can  the  Kung-pih  Leaou  do,  where 
such  ordering  is  concerned  ?” 

Yaou  said,  “Oh!  you,  Shun,  the  Heaven-determined 
order  of  succession  now  rests  in  your  person.  Sincerely 
hold  fast  the  Due  Mean.  If  there  shall  be  distress  and 
want  within  the  four  seas,  your  Heavenly  revenue  will 
come  to  a perpetual  end.” 

Shun  also  used  the  same  language  in  giving  charge  to 
Yu. 

T’ang  said,  “ I,  the  child  Le,  presume  to  use  a dark- 
colored  victim,  and  presume  to  announce  to  Thee,  O 
most  great  and  sovereign  God,  that  the  sinner  I dare 
not  pardon,  and  thy  ministers,  O God,  I do  not  keep  in 
obscurity.  The  examination  of  them  is  by  thy  mind,  O 
God.  If,  in  my  person,  I commit  offenses,  they  are  not 


THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION. 


83 


to  be  attributed  to  you,  the  people  of  the  myriad  regions. 
If  you,  in  the  myriad  regions  commit  offenses,  these  of- 
fenses must  rest  on  my  person.” 


SERVING  THE  SPIRITS,  AND  WORSHIP  OF  ANCESTORS. 

Ke  Loo  asked  about  serving  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 
The  Master  said,  “ While  you  are  not  able  to  serve  men, 
how  can  you  serve  their  spirits  ?”  Ke  Loo  added , “ I 
venture  to  ask  about  death  ?”  He  was  answered,  “ While 
you  do  not  know  life,  how  can  you  know  about  death  ?” 

Tsze-loo  said,  “ There  are  the  altars  of  the  spirits  of 
the  land  and  grain.” 

The  Master,  speaking  of  Chung-kung,  said,  “ If  the 
calf  of  a brindled  cow  be  red  and  horned,  although  man 
may  not  wish  to  use  it,  would  the  spirits  of  the  mountains 
and  rivers  put  it  aside  ?”  * 

Tsze-kung  wished  to  do  away  with  the  offering  of  a 
sheep  connected  with  the  inauguration  of  the  first  day 
of  each  month. 

The  Master  said,  “Tsze,  you  love  the  sheep;  I love 
the  ceremony.”  f 


* The  rules  of  the  Chow  dynasty  required  that  sacrificial  victims 
should  be  red  and  have  good  horns.  An  animal  with  those  qualities, 
though  it  might  spring  from  one  not  possessing  them,  would  cer- 
tainly not  be  unacceptable  on  that  account  to  the  spirits  sacri- 
ficed to. 

t The  emperor  in  the  last  month  of  the  year  gave  out  to  the 
princes  a calendar  for  the  first  days  of  the  twelve  months  of  the 
year  ensuing.  This  was  kept  in  their  ancestral  temples,  and  on 
the  first  of  each  month  they  offered  a sheep  and  announced  the  day, 
requesting  sanction  for  the  duties  of  the  month. 


s4 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


He  ( Confucius ) sacrificed  to  the  dead  as  if  they  were 
present.  He  sacrificed  to  the  spirits  as  if  the  spirits 
were  present. 

The  Master  said,  “ I consider  my  not  being  present  at 
the  sacrifice  as  if  I did  not  sacrifice.” 

The  philosopher  Tsung  said,  “ Let  there  be  a careful 
attention  to  perform  the  funeral  rites  to  parents,  and  let 
them  be  followed  when  long  gone  with  the  ceremonies  of 
sacrifice:  then  the  virtue  of  the  people  will  resume  its 
proper  excellence.” 

Tsze-hea  said,  “ Mourning  having  been  carried  to  the 
utmost  degree  of  grief,  should  stop  with  that.” 

The  philosopher  Tsang  said,  “ I heard  this  from  our 
Master.  Men  may  not  have  shown  what  is  in  them  to 
the  full  extent,  and  yet  they  will  be  found  to  do  so  on 
occasion  of  mourning  for  their  parents.”* 

Lin  Fang  asked  what  was  the  first  thing  to  be  attended 
to  in  ceremonies. 

The  Master  said,  “ A great  question,  indeed  !” 

“ In  festive  ceremonies  it  is  better  to  be  sparing  than 
extravagant.  In  the  ceremonies  of  mourning  it  is  better 
that  there  be  deep  sorrow  than  a minute  attention  to  ob- 
servances.”f 


* The  sentiment  designed  to  be  expressed  is,  that  grief  for  the 
loss  of  parents  brings  out  the  real  nature  of  man. 

t The  reader  may  wonder  that  this  chapter  is  so  short,  since  the 
Chinese  are  such  a religious  people  ; but  throughout  the  work  he 
will  find  many  allusions  to  religious  matters,  and  more  of  them 
would  have  been  introduced  here  but  for  the  fact  that  the  para- 
graphs in  which  they  occur  belong  more  especially  to  other  sub- 


THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION. 


85 


CONFUCIUS  HAD  NOT  HEARD  OF  THE  ATONEMENT. 

The  Master  said,  “ He  who  offends  against  Heaven 
has  none  to  whom  he  can  pray.” 

“ If  a man  in  the  morning  hear  the  right  way,  he  may 
die  in  the  evening  without  regret.” 


jects.  The  reader,  however,  will  not  fail  to  notice  and  be  struck 
by  them  wherever  they  occur. 

As  to  the  religious  belief  and  practice  of  Confucius,  he  will  learn 
that  he  believed  in  the  power  of  heaven  to  decree,  to  reward  and 
punish  ; that  he  worshiped  heaven  and  earth,  the  spirits,  and 
ancestors  ; that  he  prayed  much,  and  sacrificed  much ; and  that 
much  emphasis  was  placed  on  the  duties  and  ceremonies  of  mourn- 
ing for  parents. 

The  ancient  Chinese  believed  in  the  existence  and  controlling 
power  of  spirits.  They  talked  about  the  spirits  of  the  land  and 
grain,  and  of  the  hills  and  the  fountains,  and  of  the  rain  altars.  They 
believed  in  omens,  lucky  and  unlucky.  They  were  superstitious,  as 
they  are  now. 

Mention  is  frequently  made  of  Shang  Tai,  the  High  Ruler,  by 
which  the  ancient  Chinese  doubtless  understood  a great  ruling 
power  somewhere.  Shang  Tai  and  Heaven  generally  meant  the 
same  thing,  though  many  times  in  speaking  of  heaven  as  an  object 
of  worship  their  conceptions  arose  no  higher  than  the  visible 
heavens. 

The  Chinese  now  everywhere  have  gods  which  they  call  Shang 
Tai,  of  which  they  have  images,  and  concerning  which  their  ideas 
are  as  low  as  concerning  any  other  god  which  they  worship. 


86 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 


DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 


FILIAL  PIETY. 

Wang  E asked  what  filial  piety  was.  The  Master  said, 
“ It  is,  not  being  disobedient.” 

Soon  after , as  Fan  Ch’e  was  driving  him,  the  Master 
told  him,  saying,  “ Wang-sun  asked  me  what  filial  piety 
was,  and  I answered  him — Not  being  disobedient.” 

Fan  Ch’e  said,  “ What  did  you  mean  ? ” The  Master 
replied,  “ That  parents,  when  alive,  should  be  served  ac- 
cording to  propriety ; that,  when  dead,  they  should  be 
buried  according  to  propriety ; and  that  they  should  be 
sacrificed  to  according  to  propriety.” 

Tsze-yew  asked  him  what  filial  piety  was.  The  Mas- 
ter said,  “ The  filial  piety  of  now-a-days  means  tha  sup- 
port of  one’s  parents.  But  dogs  and  horses  likewise  are 
able  to  do  something  in  the  way  of  support ; without  rev- 
erence, what  is  there  to  distinguish  the  one  support  given 
from  the  other?” 

Tsze-hea  asked  what  filial  piety  was.  The  Master 
said,  “ The  difficulty  is  with  the  countenance.  If,  when 
their  ciders  have  any  troublesome  affairs,  the  young  take 


DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 


87 


the  toil  of  them,  and  if,  when  the  young  have  wine  and 
food,  they  set  them  before  their  elders,  is  this  to  be  con- 
sidered filial  piety  ? ” 

The  Master  said,  “ In  serving  his  parents,  a son  may 
remonstrate  with  them,  but  gently;  when  he  sees  that 
they  do  not  incline  to  follow  his  advice,  he  shows  an  in- 
creased degree  of  reverence,  but  does  not  abandon  his 
purpose ; and  should  they  punish  him,  he  does  not  allow 
himself  to  murmur.” 

“ While  his  parents  are  alive,  the  son  may  not  go  abroad 
to  a distance.  If  he  does  go  abroad,  he  must  have  a 
fixed  place  to  which  he  goes.” 

“If  the  son  for  three  years  does  not  alter  from  the  way 
of  his  father,  he  may  be  called  filial.” 

“ The  years  of  parents  may  by  no  means  not  be  kept 
in  the  memory,  as  an  occasion  at  once  for  joy  and  for 
fear.” 

The  philosopher  Yew  said,  “They  are  few  who,  being 
filial  and  fraternal,  are  fond  of  offending  against  their 
superiors.  There  have  been  none,  who,  not  liking  to 
offend  against  their  superiors,  have  been  fond  of  stirring 
up  confusion.” 

The  Master  said,  “ While  a man’s  father  is  alive,  look 
at  the  bent  of  his  will ; when  his  father  is  dead,  look  at 
his  conduct.  If  for  three  years  he  does  not  alter  from 
the  way  of  his  father  he  may  be  called  filial.” 

SOCIAL  INTERCOURSE,  AND  NEIGHBORHOOD  OBLIGATIONS. 

The  Master  said,  “ Is  it  not  pleasant  to  have  friends 
coming  from  distant  quarters  ? ” 

“ There  are  three  friendships  which  are  advantageous, 


88 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


and  three  which  are  injurious.  Friendship  with  the  up- 
right ; friendship  with  the  sincere  ; and  friendship  with 
the  man  of  much  observation  : these  are  advantageous. 
Friendship  with  the  man  of  specious  airs  ; friendship 
with  the  insinuatingly  soft ; and  friendship  with  the  glib- 
tongued  : these  are  injurious.” 

“ There  are  three  things  men  find  enjoyment  in  which 
are  advantageous,  and  three  things  they  find  enjoyment 
in  which  are  injurious.  To  find  enjoyment  in  the  dis- 
criminating study  of  ceremonies  and  music ; to  find  en- 
joyment in  speaking  of  the  goodness  of  others ; to  find 
enjoyment  in  having  many  worthy  friends  : these  are  ad- 
vantageous. To  find  enjoyment  in  extravagant  pleasures ; 
to  find  enjoyment  in  idleness  and  sauntering ; to  find  en- 
joyment in  the  pleasures  of  feasting : these  are  injurious. 

“ There  are  three  errors  to  which  they  who  stand  in  the 
presence  of  a man  of  virtue  and  station  are  liable.  They 
may  speak  when  it  does  not  come  to  them  to  speak  ; this 
is  called  rashness.  They  may  not  speak  when  it  comes 
to  them  to  speak ; this  is  called  concealment.  They  may 
speak  without  looking  at  the  countenance  of  their  supe- 
rior ; this  is  called  blindness.” 

“There  are  three  things  which  the  superior  man  guards 
against.  In  youth,  when  the  physical  powers  are  not  yet 
settled,  he  guards  against  lust.  When  he  is  strong,  and 
the  physical  powers  are  full  of  vigor,  he  guards  against 
quarrelsomeness.  When  he  is  old,  and  the  animal  pow- 
ers are  decayed,  he  guards  against  covetousness.” 

“There  are  three  things  of  which  the  superior  man 
stands  in  awe.  He  stands  in  awe  of  the  ordinances  of 
Fleaven.  He  stands  in  awe  of  great  men.  He  stands 
in  awe  of  the  words  of  sages. 


DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 


89 


“The  mean  man  does  not  know  the  ordinances  of 
Heaven,  and  consequently  does  not  stand  in  awe  of  them. 
He  is  disrespectful  to  great  men.  He  makes  sport  of 
the  words  of  sages.” 

The  disciples  of  Tsze-hea  asked  Tsze-chang  about  the 
principles  of  intercourse.  Tsze-chang  asked,  “What 
does  Tsze-hea  say  on  the  subject?”  They  replied,  Tsze- 
hea  says,  “ Associate  with  those  who  can  advantage  you. 
Put  away  from  you  those  who  cannot  do  so.”  Tsze-chang 
observed,  “ This  is  different  from  what  I have  learned. 
The  superior  man  honors  the  talented  and  virtuous,  and 
bears  with  all.  He  praises  the  good,  and  pities  the  in- 
competent. Am  I possessed  of  great  talents  and  virtue? 
Who  is  there  among  men  whom  I will  not  bear  with  ? 
Am  I devoid  of  talents  and  virtue  ? — men  will  put  me 
away  from  them.  What  have  we  to  do  with  the  putting 
away  of  others  ? ” 

“ Virtue  is  not  left  to  stand  alone.  He  who  practices  it 
will  have  neighbors.” 

The  Master  said,  “ It  is  virtuous  manners  which  con- 
stitute the  excellence  of  a neighborhood.  If  a man,  se- 
lecting a residence,  do  not  fix  on  one  where  such  prevail, 
how  can  he  be  wise  ? ” 

Tsze-yew  said,  “ In  serving  a prince,  frequent  remon- 
strances lead  to  disgrace.  Between  friends,  frequent  re- 
proofs make  the  friendship  distant.” 

Tsze-kung  asked  about  friendship.  The  Master  said, 
“Faithfully  admonish  your  friend , and  kindly  try  to  lead 
him.  If  you  find  him  impracticable,  stop.  Do  not  dis- 
grace yourself.” 

The  Master  said,  “ A youth,  when  at  home,  should 
be  filial,  and  abroad  respectful  to  his  eiders.  He  should 


9° 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


be  earnest  and  truthful.  He  should  overflow  in  love  to 
all,  and  cultivate  the  friendship  of  the  good.  When  he 
has  time  and  opportunity,  after  the  performance  of  these 
things,  he  should  employ  them  in  polite  studies.’" 

ON  LITIGATION* 

The  Master  said,  “ In  hearing  litigations  I am  like 
any  other  body.  What  is  necessary  is  to  cause  the  people 
to  have  no  litigations.” 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ETHICS. 


VIRTUE. 

The  Master  said,  “ Is  he  not  a man  of  complete  virtue 
who  feels  no  discomposure  though  men  may  take  no  note 
of  him  ?” 

“ He  who  aims  to  be  a man  of  complete  virtue,  in  his 
food  does  not  seek  to  gratify  his  appetite,  nor  in  his 
dwelling-place  does  he  seek  the  appliances  of  ease.  He 
is  earnest  in  what  he  is  doing,  and  careful  in  his  speech. 
He  frequents  the  company  of  men  of  principle  that  he 
may  be  rectified.  Such  a person  may  be  said,  indeed,  to 
love  to  learn.” 

“ If  the  people  be  led  by  laws,  and  uniformity  sought 
to  be  given  them  by  punishment,  they  will  try  to  avoid 
the  punishment,  but  have  no  sense  of  shame. 


ETHICS. 


91 

“ If  they  be  led  by  virtue,  and  uniformity  sought  to  be 
given  them  by  the  rules  of  propriety,  they  will  have  the 
sense  of  shame,  and  moreover  will  become  good.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Those  who  are  without  virtue  can- 
not abide  long  either  in  a condition  of  poverty  and 
hardship,  or  in  a condition  of  enjoyment.  The  virtuous 
rest  in  virtue  ; the  wise  desire  virtue.” 

The  Master  said,  “ It  is  only  the  truly  virtuous  man 
who  can  love,  or  who  can  hate  others.” 

“ If  the  will  be  set  on  virtue,  there  will  be  no  practice 
of  wickedness.” 

“ Riches  and  honors  are  what  men  desire.  If  it  can- 
not be  obtained  in  the  proper  way  they  should  not  be 
held.  Poverty  and  meanness  are  what  men  dislike.  If 
it  cannot  be  obtained  in  the  proper  way,  they  should  not 
be  avoided.” 

“ If  a superior  man  abandon  virtue,  how  can  he  fulfill 
the  requirements  of  that  name  ?” 

“ The  superior  man  does  not,  even  for  the  space  of  a 
single  meal,  act  contrary  to  virtue.  In  moments  of 
haste  he  cleaves  to  it.  In  seasons  of  danger  he  cleaves 
to  it.” 

“ I have  not  seen  a person  who  loved  virtue,  or  one 
who  hated  what  was  not  virtuous.  He  who  loved  virtue 
would  esteem  nothing  above  it.  He  who  hated  what  is 
not  virtuous,  would  practice  virtue  in  such  a way  that  he  - 
would  not  allow  anything  that  is  not  virtuous  to  approach 
his  person.” 

“ The  faults  of  men  are  characteristic  of  the  class  to 
which  they  belong.  By  observing  a man’s  faults  it  may 
be  known  that  he  is  virtuous.” 

“ A scholar  whose  mind  is  set  on  truth,  and  who  is 


92 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


ashamed  of  bad  clothes  and  bad  food,  is  not  fit  to  be 
discoursed  with.” 

“ The  superior  man  in  the  world  does  not  set  his  mind 
either  for  anything  or  against  anything  ; what  is  right  he 
will  follow.” 

“ The  superior  man  thinks  of  virtue  ; the  small  man 
thinks  of  comfort.  The  superior  man  thinks  of  the 
sanctions  of  law  ; the  small  man  thinks  of  favors  which 

he  may  receive 

Tsze-kung  said,  “ Suppose  the  case  of  a man  exten- 
sively conferring  benefits  on  the  people,  and  able  to  as- 
sist all,  what  would  you  say  of  him  ? Might  he  be  called 
perfectly  virtuous  ?” 

The  Master  said,  “ Why  speak  only  of  virtue  in  con- 
nection with  him  ? Must  he  not  have  the  qualities  of 
a sage  ? Even  Yaon  and  Shun  were  still  solicitous  about 
this. 

“ Now  the  man  of  perfect  virtue,  wishing  to  be  estab- 
lished himself,  seeks  also  to  establish  others  ; wishing 
to  be  enlarged  himself,  he  seeks  also  to  enlarge  others. 

“ To  be  able  to  judge  of  others  by  what  is  nigh  in  our- 
selves ; — this  may  be  called  the  art  of  virtue.” 

“ Is  virtue  a thing  remote  ? I wish  to  be  virtuous,  and 
lo  ! virtue  is  at  hand.” 

Yen  Yuen  asked  about  perfect  virtue.  The  Master 
said,  “To  subdue  one’s  self  and  return  to  propriety,  is 
perfect  virtue.  If  a man  can  for  one  day  subdue  himself 
and  return  to  propriety,  all  under  heaven  will  ascribe 
perfect  virtue  to  him.  Is  the  practice  of  perfect  virtue 
from  a man  himself,  or  is  it  from  others  ? ” 

Yen  Yuen  said,  “ I beg  to  ask  the  steps  of  that  pro- 
cess.” The  Master  replied,  “ Look  not  at  what  is  contrary 


ETIIICS. 


93 


to  propriety  ; listen  not  to  what  is  contrary  to  proprie- 
ty ; speak  not  what  is  contrary  to  propriety ; make  no 
movement  which  is  contrary  to  propriety.”  Yen  Yuen 
then  said,  “ Though  I am  deficient  in  intelligence  and 
vigor,  I will  make  it  my  business  to  practice  this  lesson.” 
Chung- Kung  asked  about  perfect  virtue.  The  Master 
said,  “ It  is,  when  you  go  abroad,  to  behave  to  every  otie 
as  if  you  were  receiving  a great  guest  ; to  employ  the 
people  as  if  you  were  assisting  at  a great  sacrifice  ; not 
to  do  to  others  as  you  would  not  wish  done  to  yourself ; 
to  have  no  murmuring  against  you  in  the  country,  and 
none  in  the  family.”  Chung- Kung  said,  “Though  I am 
deficient  in  intelligence  and  vigor,  I will  make  it  my 
business  to  practice  this  lesson.” 

Sze-ma  New  asked  about  perfect  virtue. 

The  Master  said,  “ The  man  of  perfect  virtue  is  cau- 
tious and  slow  in  his  speech.” 

“Cautious  and  slow  in  his  speech!”  said  New;  “is 
this  what  is  meant  by  perfect  virtue  ? ” The  Master  said, 
“ When  a man  feels  the  difficulty  of  doing,  can  he  be 
other  than  cautious  and  slow  in  speaking  ? ” 

Sze-ma  New  asked  about  the  superior  man  ? The 
Master  said,  “ The  superior  man  has  neither  anxiety  nor 
fear.” 

“ Being  without  anxiety  or  fear!”  said  New;  “does 
this  constitute  what  we  call  the  superior  man  ? ” 

The  Master  said,  “ Where  internal  examination  dis- 
covers nothing  wrong,  what  is  there  to  be  anxious  about, 
what  is  there  to  fear  ? ” 

Fan  Ch’e  rambling  with  the  Master  under  the  trees 
about  the  rain-altars,  said,  “ I venture  to  ask  how  to 


94 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


exalt  virtue,  to  correct  cherished  evil,  and  to  discover 
delusions.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Truly  a good  question  ! 

“ If  doing  what  is  to  be  done  be  made  the  first  busi- 
ness, and  success  a secondary  consideration  ; is  not  this 
the  way  to  exalt  virtue  ? To  assail  one’s  own  wickedness 
and  not  assail  that  of  others  ; is  not  this  the  way  to  cor- 
rect cherished  evil?*  For  a morning’s  anger,  to  disregard 
one’s  own  life,  and  involve  that  of  his  parents  ; is  not 
this  a case  of  delusion  ? ” 

Fan  Ch’e  asked  about  perfect  virtue.  The  Master 
said,  “ It  is,  in  retirement,  to  be  sedately  grave ; in  the 
management  of  business,  to  be  reverently  attentive ; in 
intercourse  with  others,  to  be  strictly  sincere.  Though 
a man  go  among  rude,  uncultivated  tribes,  these  qualities 
may  not  be  neglected.” 

“ Superior  men,  and  yet  not  always  virtuous,  there 
have  been,  alas  ! But  there  never  has  been  a mean  man, 
and  at  the  same  time , virtuous.” 

Tsze-loo  asked  what  constituted  a complete  man. 
The  Master  said,  “ Suppose  a man  with  the  knowledge 
of  Tsang  Woo-Chung,  the  freedom  from  covetousness  of 
Kung-Cho,  the  bravery  of  Chwang  of  Peen,  and  the 
varied  talents  of  Yen  K’ew  ; add  to  these  the  accomplish- 
ments of  the  rules  of  propriety  and  music : such  an  one 
might  be  reckoned  a complete  man.” 

He  then  added,  “ But  what  is  the  necessity  for  a com- 
plete man  of  the  present  day  to  have  all  these  things  ? 
The  man  who,  in  the  view  of  gain,  thinks  of  righteous- 
ness ; who,  in  the  view  of  danger,  is  prepared  to  give  up 


* First  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye. 


ETHICS. 


95 


his  life  ; and  who  does  noc  forget  an  old  agreement,  , 
however  far  back  it  extends  : such  a man  may  be  reck- 
oned a complete  man.”* 

“ The  determined  scholar  and  the  man  of  virtue  will 
not  seek  to  live  at  the  expense  of  injuring  their  virtue. 
They  will  even  sacrifice  their  lives  to  preserve  their  vir- 
tue complete.” 

Tsze-Kung  asked  about  the  practice  of  virtue.  The 
Master  said,  “ The  mechanic,  who  wishes  to  do  his  work 
well,  must  first  sharpen  his  tools.  When  you  are  living 
in  any  State,  take  service  with  the  most  worthy  among 
its  great  officers,  and  make  friends  of  the  most  virtuous 
among  its  scholars.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Virtue  is  more  to  man  than  either 
water  or  fire.  I have  seen  men  die  from  treading  on 
water  and  fire,  but  I have  never  seen  a man  die  from 
treading  the  course  of  virtue.” 

“ Let  ever}7  man  consider  virtue  as  what  devolves  on 
himself.  He  may  not  yield  the  performance  of  it  even 
to  his  teacher.” 

Tsze-chang  asked  Confucius  about  perfect  virtue. 
Confucius  said,  “ To  be  able  to  practice  five  things 
everywhere  under  heaven  constitutes  perfect  virtue.” 
He  begged  to  ask  what  they  were,  and  was  told,  “ Grav- 
ity, generosity  of  soul,  sincerity,  earnestness,  and  kind- 
ness. If  you  are  grave,  you  will  not  be  treated  with 
disrespect.  If  you  are  generous,  you  will  win  all.  If 
you  are  sincere,  people  will  repose  trust  in  you.  If  you 
are  earnest,  you  will  accomplish  much.  If  you  are  kind, 
this  will  enable  you  to  employ  the  sendees  of  others.” 

* The  complete  man  remembers  his  promises,  and  pays  his 
debts,  if  possible. 


96 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


“Fine  words  and  an  insinuating  appearance  are  seldom 
associated  with  virtue.” 

“The  doings  of  the  supreme  Heaven  have  neither 
sound  nor  smell — that  is  perfect  virtue.”  * * * § 

The  Master  said,  “ By  nature,  men  are  nearly  alike ; 
by  practice,  they  get  to  be  wide  apart.” 

“ There  are  only  the  wise  of  the  highest  class  and  the 
stupid  of  the  lowest  class  who  cannot  be  changed.” 

“ Without  recognizing  the  ordinances  of  Heaven, f it 
is  impossible  to  be  a superior  man.” 

“ Without  an  acquaintance  with  the  rules  of  propriety, 
it  is  impossible  for  the  character  to  be  established.” 

“ Wi'hout  knowing  the  force  of  words,  it  is  impossible 
to  know  men.”  $ 

“ The  superior  man  bends  his  attention  to  what  is  rad- 
ical. That  being  established,  all  practical  courses  natu- 
rally grow  up.  Filial  piety  and  fraternal  submission ! 
are  they  not  the  root  of  all  benevolent  actions  ?” 

Tsae  Go  asked,  saying,  “ A benevolent  man,  though  it 
be  told  him,  ‘ There  is  a man  in  the  well,’  will  go  in  after 
him,  I suppose.”  Confucius  said,  “Why  should  he  do 
so  ? A superior  man  may  be  made  to  go  to  the  well,  but 
he  cannot  be  made  to  go  down  into  it.  He  may  be  im- 
posed upon,  but  he  cannot  be  befooled.”  § 


* The  acts  of  Heaven  are  perfectly  pure — free  from  all  human 
imperfections. 

t The  will  of  Heaven  regarding  right  and  wrong,  of  which  man 
has  the  standard  in  his  own  moral  nature. 

t Words  are  the  voice  of  the  heart.  To  know  a man  we  must 
attend  well  to  what  and  how  he  thinks. 

§ The  benevolent  exercise  their  benevolence  with  prudence. 


ETHICS. 


97 


Fan  Ch’e  asked  about  benevolence.  The  Master  said, 
“ It  is  to  love  all  men.”  He  asked  about  knowledge. 
The  Master  said,  “It  is  to  know  all  men.” 

Some  one  said,  “ What  do  you  say  concerning  the  prin- 
ciple that  injury  should  be  recompensed  with  kindness?” 
The  Master  said,  “With  what,  then,  will  you  recompense 
kindness  ? 

“ Recompense  injury  with  justice,  and  recompense 
kindness  with  kindness.”  * 


NO  EXAMPLES  OF  PERFECT  VIRTUE. 

The  Master  said,  “A  sage  it  is  not  mine  to  see  ; could 
I see  a man  of  real  talent  and  virtue,  that  would  satisfy 
me.” 

“ A good  man  it  is  not  mine  to  see  ; could  I see  a man 
possessed  of  constancy,  that  would  satisfy  me.” 

“ Is  any  one  able  for  one  day  to  apply  his  strength  to 
virtue?  I have  not  seen  the  case  in  which  his  strength 
would  be  sufficient. 

“ Should  there  possibly  be  any  such  case,  I have  not 
seen  it.” 


THE  RULE  OF  LIFE  IN  ONE  WORD. 

The  Master  said,  “ I have  not  seen  a firm  and  un- 
bending man.”  Some  one  replied,  “There  is  Shin 
Ch’ang.”  “ Ch’ang,”  said  the  Master,  “ is  under  the  in- 


* There  is  another  Book  which  says,  “ Do  good  to  them  which 
hate  you.” 


5 


93 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


fluence  of  his  passions ; how  can  he  be  pronounced  firm 
and  unbending  ? ” 

Tsze-Kung  said,  “ What  I do  not  wish  men  to  do  to 
me,  I also  wish  not  to  do  to  men.”  The  Master  said, 
“Tsze,  you  have  not  attained  to  that.” 

Tsze-Kung  asked,  saying,  “ Is  there  one  word  which 
may  serve  as  a rule  of  practice  for  all  one’s  life  ? ” The 
Master  said,  “ Is  not  reciprocity  such  a word  ? What 
you  do  not  want  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others.”* 


THE  SUPERIOR  MAN — THE  BEAU  IDEAL  OF  VIRTUE. 

Tsze-Kung  asked  what  constituted  the  superior  man. 
The  Master  said,  “ He  acts  before  he  speaks,  and  after- 
wards speaks  according  to  his  actions.” 

The  Master  said,  “The  superior  man  is  catholic,  and 
no  partisan.  The  mean  man  is  a partisan,  and  not  cath- 
olic.” 

“The  mind  of  the  superior  man  is  conversant  with 
righteousness ; the  mind  of  the  mean  man  is  conversant 
with  gain.” 

“ The  superior  man  wishes  to  be  slow  in  his  words,  and 
earnest  in  his  conduct.” 

The  Master  said  of  Tsze-ch’an  that  he  had  four  of  the 
characteristics  of  a superior  man  : in  his  conduct  of  him- 
self, he  was  humble  ; in  serving  his  superiors,  he  was  re- 
spectful ; in  nourishing  the  people,  he  was  kind  ; in  or- 
dering the  people,  he  was  just.” 


* The  rule  given  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  more  compre- 
hensive ; it  reads,  “Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that 
men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them.” 


ETIIICS. 


99 


“When  Ch’ih  was  proceeding  to  Ts’e,  he  had  fat  horses 
to  his  carriage,  and  wore  light  furs.  I have  heard  that  a 
superior  man  helps  the  distressed,  but  does  not  add  to 
the  wealth  of  the  rich.” 

Yuen  Sze  being  made  governor  of  his  town  by  the  Mas- 
ter, he  gave  him  nine  hundred  measures  of  grain,  but  Sze 
declined  them. 

The  Master  said,  “ Do  not  decline  them.  May  you 
not  give  them  away  in  the  neighborhoods,  hamlets, 
towns,  and  villages  ? ” 

“ Let  the  superior  man  never  fail  reverentially  to  order 
his  own  conduct,  and  let  him  be  respectful  to  others  and 
observant  of  propriety  : then  all  within  the  four  seas  will 
be  his  brothers*  What  has  the  superior  man  to  do  with 
being  distressed  because  he  has  no  brothers  ? ” 

Kill  Tsze-shing  said,  “ In  a superior  man  it  is  only  the 
substantial  qualities  which  are  wanted  ; why  should  we 
seek  for  ornamental  accomplishments  ? 

Tsze-kung  said,  “Alas!  Your  words,  sir,  show  you  to 
be  a superior  man,  but  four  horses  cannot  overtake  the 
tongue. 

“ Ornament  is  as  substance ; substance  is  as  orna- 
ment. The  hide  of  a tiger  or  leopard  stript  of  its  hair, 
is  like  the  hide  of  a dog  or  goat  stript  of  its  hair.” 

The  Master  said,  “ The  superior  man  is  affable,  but 


* The  great  Yu  is  represented  as  having  made  the  four  seas  as 
four  ditches,  to  which  he  drained  the  waters  inundating  “ the  mid- 
dle kingdom.”  Plainly,  the  ancient  conception  of  their  own  coun- 
try was,  as  the  great  habitable  tract;  north,  south,  east,  and  west 
of  which  were  four  seas  or  oceans,  between  whose  shores  and  their 
own  borders  the  intervening  space  was  not  very  great,  and  occu- 
pied by  wild  hordes  of  inferior  races. 


IOO 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


not  adulatory ; the  mean  man  is  adulatory,  but  not  affa- 
ble.” 

“ The  superior  man  is  easy  to  serve,  and  difficult  to 
please.  If  you  try  to  please  him  in  any  way  which  is  not 
accordant  with  right,  he  will  not  be  pleased.  But  in  his 
employment  of  men,  he  uses  them  according  to  their  ca- 
pacity. The  mean  man  is  difficult  to  serve,  and  easy  to 
please.  If  you  try  to  please  him,  though  it  be  in  a way 
which  is  not  accordant  with  right,  he  may  be  pleased. 
But  in  his  employment  of  men,  he  wishes  them  to  be 
equal  to  everything.” 

“The  superior  man  has  a dignified  ease  without  pride. 
The  mean  man  has  pride  without  a dignified  ease.” 

“ The  firm,  the  enduring,  the  simple,  and  the  modest, 
are  near  to  virtue.” 

“ The  progress  of  the  superior  man  is  upwards ; the 
progress  of  the  mean  man  is  downwards.” 

The  philosopher  Ts’ang  said,  “ The  superior  man,  in 
his  thoughts,  does  not  go  out  of  his  place.” 

The  Master  said,  “ The  superior  man  is  modest  in  his 
speech,  but  exceeds  in  his  actions.” 

“ The  way  of  the  superior  man  is  three-fold,  but  I am 
not  equal  to  it.  Virtuous,  he  is  free  from  anxieties  ; 
wise,  he  is  free  from  perplexities ; bold,  he  is  free  from 
fear.” 

“ He  who  does  not  anticipate  attempts  to  deceive  him, 
nor  think  beforehand  of  his  not  being  believed,  and  yet 
apprehends  these  things  readily  when  they  occur — is  he 
not  a man  of  superior  worth  ? ” 

“ The  superior  man  in  everything  considers  righteous- 
ness to  be  essential.  He  performs  it  according  to  the 
rules  of  propriety.  He  brings  it  forth  in  humility.  He 


ETHICS. 


IOI 


completes  it  with  sincerity.  This  is  indeed  a superior 
man.”  i 

“ The  superior  man  is  distressed  by  his  want  of  ability.  I 
He  is  not  distressed  by  men’s  not  knowing  him. 

“ He  dislikes  the  thought  of  his  name  not  being  men- 
tioned after  his  death. 

“ What  the  superior  man  seeks,  is  in  himself.  What 
the  mean  man  seeks,  is  in  others. 

“ He  is  dignified,  but  does  not  wrangle.  He  is  socia- 
ble, but  not  a partisan. 

“ He  does  not  promote  a man  simply  on  account  of  his 
words,  nor  does  he  put  aside  good  words  because  of  the 
man.” 

“ The  object  of  the  superior  man  is  truth.  Food  is 
not  his  object.  There  is  ploughing  ; even  in  that  there 
is  sometimes  want.  So  with  learning;  emolument  may  be 
found  in  it.  The  superior  man  is  anxious  lest  he  should 
not  get  truth ; he  i§  not  anxious  lest  poverty  should  come 
upon  him.” 

“ The  superior  man  is  correctly  firm,  and  not  firm 
merely.” 

“ The  superior  man  has  nine  things  which  are  subjects 
with  him  of  thoughtful  consideration.  In  regard  to  the 
use  of  his  eyes,  he  is  anxious  to  see  clearly.  In  regard 
to  the  use  of  his  ears,  he  is  anxious  to  hear  distinctly. 
In  regard  to  his  countenance,  he  is  anxious  that  it  should 
be  benign.  In  regard  to  his  demeanor,  he  is  anxious 
that  it  should  be  respectful.  In  regard  to  his  speech, 
he  is  anxious  that  it  should  be  sincere.  In  regard  to  his 
doing  of  business,  he  is  anxious  that  it  should  be  rev- 
erently careful.  In  regal'd  to  what  he  doubts  about,  he 
is  anxious  to  question  others.  When  he  is  angry,  he 


102 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


thinks  of  the  difficulties  his  anger  may  involve  him  in. 
When  he  sees  gain  to  be  got,  he  thinks  of  righteous- 
ness.” 

Tsze-loo  said,  “ Does  the  superior  man  esteem  valor  ?” 
The  Master  said,  “ The  superior  man  holds  righteous- 
ness to  be  of  highest  importance.  A man  in  a superior 
situation,  having  valor  without  righteousness,  will  be 
guilty  of  insubordination  ; one  of  the  lower  people,  hav- 
ing valor  without  righteousness,  will  commit  robber}'.” 
Tsze-kung  said,  “ Has  the  superior  man  his  hatreds 
also  ?”  The  Master  said,  “ He  has  his  hatreds.  He 
hates  those  who  proclaim  the  evil  of  others.  He  hates 
the  man  who,  being  in  a low  station,  slanders  his  supe- 
riors. He  hates  those  who  have  valor  merely , and  are 
unobservant  of  propriety.  He  hates  those  who  are  for- 
ward and  determined,  and  at  the  same  time  of  contracted 
understanding.” 

The  Master  then  inquired,  “ Tsze,  have  you  also  your 
hatreds  ?”  Tsze-kung  replied,  “ I hate  those  who  pry  out 
matters,  and  ascribe  the  knowledge  to  their  wisdom.  I 
hate  those  who  are  only  not  modest,  and  think  that  they 
are  valorous.  I hate  those  who  make  known  secrets, 
and  think  that  they  are  straightforward.” 

Tsze-hea  said,  “ The  superior  man,  having  obtained 
their  confidence,  may  then  impose  labors  on  his  people. 
If  he  have  not  gained  their  confidence,  they  will  think 
that  he  is  oppressing  them.  Having  obtained  the  confi- 
dence of  his  prince,  he  may  then  remonstrate  with  him. 
If  he  have  not  gained  his  confidence,  the  prmce  will 
think  that  he  is  vilifying  him.” 

Tsze-kung  said,  “ The  faults  of  the  superior  man  are 
like  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon.  He  has  his 


ETHICS. 


I03 

faults,  and  all  men  see  them  j he  changes  again,  and  all 
men  look  up  to  him.” 


ON  THE  FORMATION  OF  CHARACTER. 

Tsze-hea  said,  “ If  a man  withdraws  his  mind  from  the 
love  of  beauty,  and  applies  it  as  sincerely  to  the  love  of 
the  virtuous  ; if  in  serving  his  parents  he  can  exert  his 
utmost  strength  ; if  in  serving  his  prince  he  can  devote 
his  life  ; if  in  his  intercourse  with  his  friends  his  words 
arc  sincere ; although  men  say  he  has  not  learned,  I will 
certainly  say  that  he  has.” 

Tsze-kung  said,  “What  do  you  pronounce  concerning 
the  poor  man  who  yet  does  not  flatter,  and  the  rich  man 
who  is  not  proud  ?”  The  Master  replied,  “ They  will 
do  ; but  they  are  not  equal  to  him  who,  though  poor,  is 
yet  cheerful,  and  to  him  who,  though  rich,  loves  the  rules 
of  propriety.” 

Tsze-kung  replied,  “It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry, 
‘ As  you  cut  and  then  file,  as  you  carve  and  then  polish.’ 
The  meaning  is  the  same,  I apprehend,  as  that  which 
you  have  just  expressed.” 

The  Master  said,  “ With  one  like  Tsze  I can  begin  to 
talk  about  the  Odes.  I told  him  one  point,  and  he 
knew  its  proper  sequence.”* 

“ In  the  Book  of  Poetry  are  three  hundred  pieces,  but 


* Reference  is  made  to  the  ode  which  praises  the  prince  who 
dealt  with  himself  as  the  ivory-worker  or  lapidary  works  his  ma- 
terials, meaning  that  a person  must  not  be  satisfied  with  present 
attainments,  but  strive  after  greater. 


io4 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


the  design  of  them  all  may  be  embraced  in  one  sentence : 

‘ Have  no  depraved  thoughts.’  ” 

“ See  what  a man  does. 

“ Mark  his  motives. 

“ Examine  m what  things  he  rests. 

“ How  can  a man  conceal  his  character  ? 

“ How  can  a man  conceal  his  character  !” 

“ If  a man  keeps  cherishing  his  old  knowledge,  so  as 
continually  to  be  acquiring  new,  he  may  be  a teacher  of 
others.” 

Tsze-chang  was  learning  with  a view  to  official  emolu- 
ment. 

The  Master  said,  “ Hear  much,  and  put  aside  the 
points  of  which  you  stand  in  doubt,  while  you  speak  cau- 
tiously at  the  same  time  of  the  others  ; then  you  will 
afford  few  occasions  for  blame.  See  much,  and  put  aside 
the  things  which  seem  perilous,  while  you  are  cautious  at 
the  same  time  in  carrying  the  others  into  practice  ; then 
you  will  have  few  occasions  for  repentance.  When  one 
gives  few  occasions  for  blame  in  his  words,  and  few  occa- 
sions for  repentance  in  his  conduct,  he  is  in  the  way  to 
get  emolument.” 

“ He  who  acts  with  a constant  view  to  his  own  advan- 
tage will  be  much  murmured  against.” 

“A  man  should  say,  I am  not  concerned  that  I have 
no  place ; I am  concerned  how  I may  fit  myself  for  one. 
I am  not  concerned  that  I am  not  known ; I seek  to  be 
worthy  to  be  known.” 

“ Can  men  refuse  to  assent  to  the  words  of  strict  ad- 
monition ? But  it  is  reforming  the  conduct  because  of 
them  which  is  valuable.  Can  men  refuse  to  be  pleased 
with  words  of  gentle  advice  ? But  it  is  unfolding  their 


ETHICS. 


105 

aim  which  is  valuable.  If  a man  be  pleased  with  these 
words,  but  does  not  unfold  their  aim,  and  assents  to 
these,  but  does  not  reform  his  conduct,  I can  really  do 
nothing  with  him.” 

“ Hold  faithfulness  and  sincerity  as  first  principles. 
Have  no  friends  not  equal  to  yourself.  When  you  have 
faults,  do  not  fear  to  abandon  them.” 

“ The  commander  of  the  forces  of  a large  State  may 
be  carried  off,  but  the  will  of  even  a common  man 
cannot  be  taken  from  him.” 


WISDOM  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 

Fan  Ch’e  asked  what  constituted  wisdom.  The  Mas- 
ter said,  “To  give  one’s  self  earnestly  to  the  duties  due  to 
men,  and,  while  respecting  spiritual  beings,  to  keep  aloof 
from  them,  may  be  called  wisdom.”  He  asked  about 
perfect  virtue.  The  Master  said,  “ The  man  of  virtue 
makes  the  difficulty  to  be  overcome  his  first  business,  and 
success  only  a subsequent  consideration  : this  may  be 
called  perfect  virtue.” 

“ The  wise  find  pleasure  in  water ; the  virtuous  find 
pleasure  in  hills.  The  wise  are  active ; the  virtuous  are 
tranquil.  The  wise  are  joyful,  the  virtuous  are  long- 
lived.” 

Tsze-chang  asked  what  constituted  intelligence.  The 
Master  said,  “ He  with  whom  neither  slander,  that  grad- 
ually soaks  into  the  mind,  nor  statements  that  startle  like 
a wound  in  the  flesh,  are  successful,  may  be  called  intel- 
ligent indeed.  Yea,  he  with  whom  neither  soaking  slan- 
5* 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


icG 

der,#  nor  startling  statements  arc  successful,  may  be  called 
far-seeing.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Yew,  shall  I teach  you  what  knowl- 
edge is  ? When  you  know  a thing,  to  hold  that  you  know 
it ; and  when  you  do  not  know  a thing,  to  allow  that  you 
do  not  know  it : tills  is  knowledge.” 


PROPRIETY. 

The  Master  said,  “ Respectfulness,  without  the  rules 
of  propriety,  becomes  laborious  bustle  ; carefulness,  with- 
out the  rules  of  propriety,  becomes  timidity ; boldness, 
without  the  rules  of  propriety,  becomes  insubordination  ; 
straightforwardness,  without  the  rules  of  propriety,  be- 
comes rudeness.” 

“ There  are  three  principles  of  conduct,  which  the  man 
. of  high  rank  should  consider  specially  important : that 
in  his  deportment  and  manner  he  keep  from  violence  and 
heedlessness  ; that  in  regulating  his  countenance  he  keep 
near  to  sincerity;  and  that  in  his  words  and  tones  he 
keep  far  from  lowness  and  impropriety.  As  to  such 
matters  as  attending  to  the  sacrificial  vessels,  there  are 
the  proper  officers  for  them.” 

The  philosopher  Tsang  said,  “ I daily  examine  myself 
on  three  points : whether  in  transacting  business  for  oth- 
ers I may  have  been  not  faithful ; whether  in  intercourse 
with  friends  I may  have  been  not  sincere  ; whether  I may 
have  not  mastered  and  practiced  the  instructions  of  my 
teacher.” 


•*  Slander  soaks  into  the  mind  as  water  into  low  and  marshv 
places,  where  it  becomes  stagnant  and  offensive. 


ETHICS. 


107 


The  philosopher  Yew  said,  “ In  practicing  the  rules  of 
propriety,  a natural  ease  is  to  be  prized.  In  the  ways 
prescribed  by  the  ancient  kings,  this  is  the  excellent 
quality,  and  in  things  small  and  great  we  follow  them.” 


TRUTHFULNESS  AND  SINCERITY. 

The  Master  said,  “ I do  not  know  how  a man  without 
truthfulness  is  to  get  on.  How  can  a large  carriage  be 
made  to  go  without  the  cross-bar  for  yoking  the  oxen  to, 
or  a small  carriage  without  the  arrangement  for  yoking 
the  horses  ? ” 

“For  a man  to  sacrifice  to  a spirit  which  does  not  be- 
long to  him,  is  flattery.” 

“To  see  what  is  right  and  not  to  do  it,  is  want  of  cour- 
age.” 

“ Man  is  born  for  uprightness.  If  a man  lose  his  up- 
rightness, and  yet  live,  his  escape  from  death  is  the  effect 
of  mere  good  fortune.”  * 

“ They  who  know  the  truth  are  not  equal  to  those  who 
love  it,  and  they  who  love  it  are  not  equal  to  those  who 
find  pleasure  in  it.” 

Tsze-chang  asked  how  a man  might  conduct  himself, 
so  as  to  be  everywhere  appreciated. 

The  Master  said,  “ Let  his  words  be  sincere  and  truth- 
ful, and  his  actions  honorable  and  careful ; such  conduct 
may  be  practiced  among  the  rude  tribes  of  the  South  or 


* An  important  truth  struggles  here  for  expression,  but  only  finds 
it  imperfectly.  Without  uprightness  the  end  of  man’s  existence  is 
not  fulfilled,  but  his  preservation  in  such  case  is  not  merely  a for- 
tunate accident 


Io8  CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 

the  North.  If  his  words  be  not  sincere  and  truthful,  and 
his  actions  not  honorable  and  careful,  will  he,  with  such 
conduct,  be  appreciated,  even  in  his  neighborhood  ? 

“ When  he  is  standing,  let  him  see  those  two  things, 
as  it  were,  fronting  him.  When  he  is  in  a carriage,  let 
him  see  them  attached  to  the  yoke.  Then  may  he  sub- 
sequently carry  them  into  practice.” 

Tsze-chang  wrote  these  counsels  on  the  end  of  his 
sash. 

The  Master  said,  “ Even  in  my  early  days,  a historiog- 
rapher would  leave  a blank  in  his  text,*  and  he  who  had 
a horse  would  lend  him  to  another  to  ride.  Now,  alas  ! 
there  are  no  such  tilings.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Fine  words,  an  insinuating  appear- 
ance, and  excessive  respect — Tso-K’ew  Wing  was  asham- 
ed of  them.  I also  am  ashamed  of  them.  To  conceal 
resentment  against  a person,  and  appear  friendly  with 
him — Tso-K’ew  Wing  was  ashamed  of  such  conduct.  I 
also  am  ashamed  of  it.” 

Yen  Yuen  and  Ke  Loo  being  by  his  side,  the  Master 
said  to  them,  “ Come,  let  each  of  you  tell  his  wishes.” 

Tsze-loo  said,  “ I should  like,  having  chariots  and 
horses,  and  light  fur  dresses,  to  share  them  with  my 
friends ; and  though  they  should  spoil  them,  I would  not 
be  displeased.” 

Yen  Yuen  said,  “ I should  like  not  to  boast  of  my  ex- 
cellence, nor  to  make  a display  of  my  meritorious  deeds.” 

Tsze-loo  then  said,  “ I should  like,  sir,  to  hear  your 
wishes.”  The  Master  said,  “ They  are,  in  regard  to  the 


* Anciently  the  historiographer  recorded  only  what  was  true,  and 
did  not  draw  upon  imagination  from  “fear  of  spoiling  the  story.” 


ETHICS. 


I09 


aged,  to  give  them  rest ; in  regard  to  friends,  to  show 
them  sincerity ; in  regard  to  the  young,  to  treat  them 
tenderly.” 

The  Master  said,  “ It  is  all  over  ! I have  not  yet  seen 
one  who  could  perceive  his  faults,  and  inwardly  accuse 
himself.” 

“ In  a hamlet  of  ten  families,  there  may  be  found  one 
honorable  and  sincere  as  I am,  but  not  so  fond  of  learn- 
ing.” 

“ Having  not,  and  yet  affecting  to  have ; empty,  and 
yet  affecting  to  be  full ; straitened,  and  yet  affecting  to 
be  at  ease  : it  is  difficult,  with  such  characteristics,  to 
have  constancy.” 

Tsze-chang  having  asked  how  virtue  was  to  be  exalted, 
and  delusions  to  be  discovered,  the  Master  said,  “ Hold 
faithfulness  and  sincerity  as  first  principles,  and  be  mov- 
ing continually  to  what  is  right  : this  is  the  way  to  exalt 
one’s  virtue.” 

Tsze-loo  never  slept  over  a promise. 

The  Master  said,  “ By  extensively  studying  all  learn- 
ing, and  keeping  himself  under  the  restraint  of  the  rules 
of  propriety,  one  may  thus  likewise  not  err  from  what  is 
right.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Fine  words  and  an  insinuating  ap- 
pearance are  seldom  associated  with  true  virtue.” 

“ The  student  of  virtue  has  no  contentions.  If  it  be 
said  he  cannot  avoid  them,  shall  this  be  in  archery  ? But 
he  bows  complaisantly  to  his  competitors ; thus  he  ascends 
the  hail,  descends,  and  exacts  the  forfeit  of  drinking.”  * 


* Anciently  the  forfeit  was  paid  by  the  person  losing  taking  the 
wine;  which  practice  has  been  handed  down  to  the  present  day,  and 


I 10 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


EDUCATION. 

The  Master  said,  “ Is  it  not  pleasant  to  learn  with  a 
constant  perseverance  and  application  ? 

“ If  the  scholar  be  not  grave,  he  will  not  call  forth  any 
veneration,  and  his  learning  will  not  be  solid.” 

“ Learning  without  thought  is  labor  lost ; thought  with- 
out learning  is  perilous.” 

“The  study  of  strange  doctrines  is  injurious  indeed  ! ” 

When  Tsze-loo  heard  anything,  if  he  had  not  yet  car- 
ried it  into  practice,  he  was  only  afraid  lest  he  should 
hear  something  else. 

Tsze-Kung  asked,  saying,  “ On  what  ground  did  Kung- 
wan  get  that  title  of  wan  ? ” The  Master  said,  “ He  was 
of  an  active  nature  and  yet  fond  of  learning,  and  he  was 
not  ashamed  to  ask  and  learn  of  his  inferiors ! On  these 
grounds  he  has  been  styled  wan.”  (Wan — meaning  ac- 
complished.) 

The  Master  said,  “ To  those  whose  talents  are  above 
mediocrity,  the  highest  subjects  may  be  announced.  To 
those  who  are  below  mediocrity,  the  highest  subjects  may 
not  be  announced.” 

“ Let  the  will  be  set  on  the  path  of  duty. 

“ Let  every  attainment  in  what  is  good  be  firmly 
grasped. 

“ Let  perfect  virtue  be  accorded  with. 

“ Let  relaxation  and  enjoyment  be  found  in  the  polite 
arts.” 


may  be  witnessed  at  the  festive  boards  of  the  Chinese  when  they 
play  at  the  game  of  guessing  on  fingers;  the  one  who  guesses  wrong 
is  punished  by  being  made  to  drink  a cup  of  wine. 


ETHICS. 


Ill 


“ Learn  as  if  you  could  not  reach  your  object,  and  were 
always  fearing  also  lest  you  should  lose  it.” 

“ The  prosecution  of  learning  may  be  compared  to  what 
may  happen  in  raising  a mound.  If  there  want  but  one 
basket  of  earth  to  complete  the  work,  and  I stop,  the 
stopping  is  my  own  work.  It  may  be  compared  to  throw- 
ing down  the  earth  on  the  level  ground.  Though  but  one 
basketful  is  thrown  at  a time , the  advancing  with  it  is  my 
own  going  forward.” 

The  Master  said  of  Yen  Yuen,  “ Alas  ! I saw  his  con- 
stant advance.  I never  saw  him  stop  in  his  progress.” 
“ There  are  cases  in  which  the  blade  springs,  but  the 
plant  does  not  go  on  to  the  flower ! There  are  cases 
where  it  flowers,  but  no  fruit  is  subsequently  produced  ! ”* 
The  philosopher  Tsang  said,  “ The  superior  man  on 
literary  grounds,  meets  with  his  friends,  and  by  their 
friendship  helps  his  virtue.” 

The  Master  said,  “ The  scholar  who  cherishes  the  love 
of  comfort,  is  not  fit  to  be  deemed  a scholar.” 

“ In  ancient  times,  men  learned  with  a view  to  their 
own  improvement.  Now-a-days  men  learn  with  a view 
to  the  approbation  of  others.” 

“ Those  who  are  born  with  the  possession  of  knowl- 
edge, are  the  highest  class  of  men.  Those  who  learn, 
and  so,  readily  get  possession  of  knowledge,  are  the  next. 
Those  who  are  dull  and  stupid,  and  yet  compass  the 
learning,  are  another  class  next  to  these.  As  to  those 
who  are  dull  and  stupid  and  yet  do  not  learn,  they  are 
the  lowest  of  the  people.” 


* Learners  should  not  cease  nor  intermit  their  labors.  It  is  the 
end  which  crowns  the  work. 


1 1 2 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


DILIGENCE,  TEMPERANCE,  POLITENESS. 

Tsae  Yu  being  asleep  during  the  daytime,  the  Master 
said,  “ Rotten  wood  cannot  be  carved  ; a wall  of  dirty 
earth  will  not  receive  the  trowel.  This  Yu  ! what  is  the 
use  of  my  reproving  him  ? ” 

The  Master  said,  “ At  first  my  way  with  men  was  to 
hear  their  words,  and  give  them  credit  for  their  conduct. 
Now  my  way  is  to  hear  their  words,  and  look  at  their 
conduct.  It  is  from  Yu  that  I have  learned  to  make 
this  change.” 

Chung-Kung  said,  “ If  a man  cherish  in  himself  a rev- 
erential feeling  of  the  necessity  of  attention  to  business, 
though  he  may  be  easy  in  small  matters  in  his  govern- 
ment of  the  people,  that  may  be  allowed.  But  if  he 
cherish  in  himself  that  easy  feeling,  and  also  carry  it  out 
in  his  practice,  is  not  such  an  easy  mode  of  procedure 
excessive  ?” 

The  Master  said,  “ Kung’s  words  are  right.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Admirable  indeed  was  the  virtue 
of  Hwuy ! With  a single  bamboo  dish  of  rice,  a single 
gourd  dish  of  drink,  and  living  in  his  mean,  narrow  lane, 
while  others  could  not  have  endured  the  distress,  he  did 
not  allow  his  joy  to  be  affected  by  it.  Admirable  indeed 
was  the  virtue  of  Hwuy ! ” 

“ Extravagance  leads  to  insubordination,  and  parsimo- 
ny to  meanness.  It  is  better  to  be  mean  than  to  be 
insubordinate.” 

“ The  superior  man  is  satisfied  and  composed ; the 
mean  man  is  always  full  of  distress.” 

“ I can  find  no  flaw  in  the  character  of  Yu.  He  used 


ETHICS. 


XI3 


himself  coarse  food  and  drink,  but  displayed  the  utmost 
filial  piety  towards  the  spirits.  His  ordinary  garments 
were  poor,  but  he  displayed  the  utmost  elegance  in  his 
sacrificial  cap  and  apron.  He  lived  in  a low  mean  house, 
but  expended  all  his  strength  on  the  ditches  and  water- 
channels.  I can  find  nothing  like  a flaw  in  Yu.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Gan  P’ing  knew  well  how  to  main- 
tain friendly  intercourse.  The  acquaintance  might  be 
long,  but  he  showed  the  same  respect  as  at  first." 

A youth  of  the  village  of  K’eueh  was  employed  by 
Confucius  to  carry  the  messages  between  him  and  his 
visitors.  Some  one  asked  about  him,  saying,  “ I sup- 
pose he  has  made  great  progress.” 

The  Master  said,  “ I observe  that  he  is  fond  of  occu- 
pying the  seat  of  a full-grown  man  ; I observe  that  he 
Avalks  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  his  elders.  He  is  not 
one  who  is  seeking  to  make  progress  in  learning.  He 
wishes  quickly  to  become  a man.”  * 

GENERAL  DUTIES-. 

The  philosopher  Yew  said,  “ When  agreements  are 
made  according  to  what  is  right,  what  is  spoken  can  be 
made  good.  When  respect  is  shown  according  to  what 
is  proper,  one  keeps  far  from  shame  and  disgrace.  When 
the  parties  upon  whom  a man  leans  are  proper  persons 
to  be  intimate  with,  he  can  make  them  his  guides  and 
masters.” 


* Rules  of  ceremony  give  the  corner  to  the  youth,  the  body  of 
the  room  to  the  full-grown  men;  and  in  walking,  the  youth  walks  a 
little  behind  the  elder. 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


“4 

The  Master  said,  “ This  man  seldom  speaks  ; when 
he  does,  he  is  sure  to  hit  the  point.” 

Tsze-kung  asked  which  of  the  two,  Sze  or  Shang,  was 
the  superior.  The  Master  said,  “ Sze  goes  beyond  the 
due  mean , and  Shang  does  not  come  up  to  it.” 

“ Then,”  said  Tsze-kung,  “ the  superiority  is  with  Sze, 
I suppose.” 

The  Master  said,  “ To  go  beyond  is  as  wrong  as  to 
fall  short.” 

“ Employ  the  upright,  and  put  aside  all  the  crooked. 
In  this  way  the  crooked  can  be  made  to  be  upright.” 

Yuen  Jang  was  squatting  on  his  heels  and  so  waited 
the  approach  of  the  Master,  who  said  to  him,  “ In  youth, 
not  humble  as  befits  a junior  ; in  manhood,  doing  noth- 
ing worthy  of  being  handed  down  ; and  living  on  to  old 
age — this  is  to  be  a pest.” 

When  Confucius  was  in  Ch’in,  their  provisions  were 
exhausted,  and  his  followers  became  so  ill  that  they  were 
unable  to  rise. 

Tsze-loo,  with  evident  dissatisfaction,  said,  “ Has  the 
superior  man  likewise  to  endure  in  this  way  V ’ The 
Master  said,  “ The  superior  man  may  indeed  have  to 
endure  want ; but  the  mean  man,  when  he  is  in  want, 
gives  way  to  unbridled  license.”* 

The  Master  said,  “ When  a number  of  people  are  to- 
gether for  a whole  day  without  their  conversation  turning 
on  righteousness,  and  when  they  are  fond  of  carrying 
out  the  suggestions  of  a small  shrewdness,  theirs  is  indeed 
a hard  case.” 


* In  the  midst  of  distress,  he  shows  the  disciples  how  the  supe- 
rior man  is  above  complaining. 


ETHICS. 


”5 


The  Master  said,  “ Yew,  have  you  heard  the  six  words 
to  which  are  attached  six  becloudings  ?”  Yew  replied, 
“ I have  not.” 

“ Sit  down,  and  I will  tell  them  to  you. 

“ There  is  the  love  of  being  benevolent  without  the 
love  of  learning ; the  beclouding  here  leads  to  a foolish 
simplicity.  There  is  the  love  of  knowing  without  the 
love  of  learning ; the  beclouding  here  leads  to  dissipa- 
tion of  mind.  There  is  the  love  of  being  sincere  with- 
out the  love  of  learning ; the  beclouding  here  leads  to 
an  injurious  disregard  of  consequences.  There  is  the 
love  of  straightforwardness  without  the  love  of  learning  ; 
the  beclouding  here  leads  to  rudeness.  There  is  the 
love  of  boldness  without  the  love  of  learning ; the  be- 
clouding here  leads  to  insubordination.  There  is  the 
love  of  firmness  without  the  love  of  learning ; the  be- 
clouding here  leads  to  extravagant  conduct.” 

The  Master  said,  “ My  children,  why  do  you  not  study 
the  Book  of  Poetry  ? 

“ The  Odes  serve  to  stimulate  the  mind. 

“They  may  be  used  for  purposes  of  self-contempla- 
tion. 

“ They  teach  the  art  of  sociability. 

“ They  show  how  to  regulate  feelings  of  resentment. 

“ From  them  you  learn  the  more  immediate  duty  of 
serving  one’s  father,  and  the  remoter  one  of  sewing 
one’s  prince. 

“ From  them  we  become  largely  acquainted  with  the 
names  of  birds,  beasts,  and  plants.” 

Tsze-chang  said,  “ The  scholar  trained  for  public  duty 
seeing  threatening  danger,  is  prepared  to  sacrifice  his 
life.  When  the  opportunity  of  gain  is  presented  to  him, 


ii6 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


he  thinks  of  righteousness.  In  sacrificing,  his  thoughts 
are  reverential.  In  mourning,  his  thoughts  are  about 
the  grief  which  he  should  feel.  Such  a man  commands 
our  approbation  indeed.” 


OX  GOVERNMENT. 


1 ' 7 


CHAPTER  V. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 

ADVICE  FOR  KINGS. 

The  Master  said,  “To  rule  a country  of  a thousand 
chariots,  there  must  be  reverent  attention  to  business, 
and  sincerity  3 economy  in  expenditure  and  love  for 
men  3 and  the  employment  of  the  people  at  the  proper 
seasons.” 

“ He  who  exercises  government  by  means  of  his  virtue 
may  be  compared  to  the  north  polar  star,  which  keeps 
its  place,  and  all  the  stars  turn  towards  it.” 

The  duke  Gae  asked,  saying,  “ What  should  be  done 
in  order  to  secure  the  submission  of  the  people  ?”  Con- 
fucius replied,  “ Advance  the  upright  and  set  aside  the 
crooked,  then  the  people  will  submit.  Advance  the 
crooked  and  set  aside  the  upright,  then  the  people  will 
not  submit.” 

Ke  K’ang  asked  how  to  cause  the  people  to  reverence 
their  ruler , to  be  faithful  to  him,  and  to  urge  themselves 
to  virtue.  The  Master  said,  “ Let  him  preside  over 
them  with  gravity,  then  they  will  reverence  him.  Let 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


nS 

him  be  filial  and  kind  to  all,  then  they  will  be  faithful  to 
him.  Let  him  advance  the  good  and  teach  the  incom- 
petent, then  they  will  eagerly  seek  to  be  virtuous.” 

Some  one  addressed  Confucius,  saying,  “ Sir,  why  are 
you  not  engaged  in  the  government  ?” 

The  Master  said,  “ What  does  the  Skoo-king  say  of 
filial  piety?  ‘You  are  filial,  you  discharge  your  brotherly 
duties.  These  qualities  are  displayed  in  government.’ 
This  then  also  constitutes  the  exercise  of  government. 
Why  must  there  be  that  to  make  one  be  in  the  govern- 
ment ?” 

“ Pih-e  and  Shuh-ts’e  did  not  keep  the  former  wicked- 
ness of  men  in  mind,  and  hence  the  resentments  directed 
towards  them  were  few.” 

“ When  those  who  are  in  high  stations  perform  well  all 
their  duties  to  their  relations,  the  people  are  aroused  to 
virtue.  When  old  friends  are  not  neglected  by  them, 
the  people  are  preserved  from  meanness.” 

Tsze-kung  asked  about  government.  The  Master 
said,  “ The  requisites  of  government  are,  that  there  be 
sufficiency  of  food,  sufficiency  of  military  equipment,  and 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  their  ruler.” 

Tsze-Kung  said,  “ If  it  cannot  be  helped,  and  one  of 
these  must  be  dispensed  with,  which  of  the  three  should 
be  foregone  first  ? ” “ The  military  equipment,”  said  the 

Master. 

Tsze-Kung  again  asked,  “If  it  cannot  be  helped,  and 
one  of  the  remaining  two  must  be  dispensed  with,  which 
of  them  should  be  foregone  ? ” The  Master  answered, 
“ Part  with  the  food.  From  of  old,  death  has  been  the 
lot  of  all  men ; but  if  the  people  have  no  faith  in  their 
rulers,  there  is  no  standing  for  the  State." 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


1I9 

Tsze-chang  asked  about  the  government.  The  Master 
said,  “The  art  of  governing  is  to  keep  its  affairs  before 
the  mind  without  weariness,  and  to  practice  them  with 
undeviating  consistency.” 

Ke  K'ang  asked  Confucius  about  government.  Con- 
fucius replied,  “ To  govern  means  to  rectify.  If  you  lead 
on  the  people  with  correctness,  who  will  dare  not  to  be 
correct  ? ” 

Ke  K’ang,  distressed  about  the  number  of  thieves  in 
the  State,  inquired  of  Confucius  about  how  to  do  away 
with  them.  Confucius  said,  “ If  you,  sir,  were  not  cov- 
etous, although  you  should  reward  them  to  do  it,  they 
would  not  steal.” 

Ke  K’ang  asked  Confucius  about  government,  saying, 
“ What  do  you  say  to  killing  the  unprincipled  for  the 
good  of  the  principled?”  Confucius  replied,  “Sir,  in 
carrying  on  your  government,  why  should  you  use  killing 
at  all  ? Let  your  evinced  desires  be  for  what  is  good,  and 
the  people  will  be  good.  The  relation  between  superi- 
ors and  inferiors  is  like  that  between  the  wind  and  the 
grass.  The  grass  must  bend  when  the  wind  blows 
across  it.” 

Tsze-chang  asked,  “ What  must  the  officer  be,  who 
may  be  said  to  be  distinguished  ? ” 

The  Master  said,  “ What  is  it  you  call  being  distin- 
guished ? ” 

Tsze-chang  replied,  “It  is  to  be  heard  of  through  the 
State ; to  be  heard  of  through  the  family.” 

The  Master  said,  “ That  is  notoriety,  not  distinction. 

“ Now,  the  man  of  distinction  is  solid  and  straightfor- 
ward, and  loves  righteousness.  He  examines  people’s 
words,  and  looks  at  their  countenances.  He  is  anxious 


120 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


to  humble  himself  to  others.  Such  a man  will  be  dis- 
tinguished in  the  country ; he  will  be  distinguished  in  the 
family. 

“ As  to  the  man  of  notoriety,  he  assumes  the  appear- 
ance of  virtue,  but  his  actions  are  opposed  to  it,  and  he 
rests  in  his  character  without  any  doubts  about  himself. 
Such  a man  will  be  heard  of  in  the  country  ; he  will  be 
heard  of  in  the  family.” 

Tsze-loo  asked  about  government.  The  Master  said, 
“ Go  before  the  people  with  your  example , and  be  labori- 
ous in  their  affairs.” 

“ Be  not  weary  in  these  things.” 

“ Employ  first  the  services  of  your  various  officers,  par- 
don small  faults,  and  raise  to  office  men  of  virtue  and 
talents.” 

Chung-Kung  said,  “ How  shall  I know  the  men  of  vir- 
tue and  talents,  so  that  I may  raise  them  to  office  ? ” He 
was  answered,  “ Raise  to  office  those  whom  you  know. 
As  to  those  whom  you  do  not  know,  will  others  neglect 
them  ? ” 

“ If  a superior  love  propriety,  the  people  will  not  dare 
not  to  be  reverent.  If  he  love  righteousness,  the  peo- 
ple will  not  dare  not  to  submit  to  his  example.  If  he  love 
good  faith,  the  people  will  not  dare  not  to  be  sincere. 
Now,  when  these  things  obtain,  the  people  from  all  quar- 
ters will  come  to  him,  bearing  their  children  on  their 
backs.” 

“ Though  a man  may  be  able  to  recite  the  three  hun- 
dred odes,  yet  if,  when  intrusted  with  a governmental 
charge,  he  knows  not  how  to  act,  or  if,  when  sent  to  any 
quarter  on  a mission,  he  cannot  give  his  replies  unas- 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


12  I 


sisted,  notwithstanding  the  extent  of  his  learning , of  what 
practical  use  is  it  ? ” 

“ When  a prince’s  personal  conduct  is  correct,  his  gov- 
ernment is  effective  without  the  issuing  of  orders.  If  his 
personal  conduct  is  not  correct,  he  may  issue  orders,  but 
they  will  not  be  followed.” 

When  the  Master  went  to  Wei,  Yen  Yew  acted  as  dri- 
ver of  his  carriage. 

The  Master  observed,  “ How  numerous  are  the  peo- 
ple ! ” 

Yew  said,  “ Since  they  are  thus  numerous,  what  more 
shall  be  done  for  them  ? ” “ Enrich  them,”  was  the  re- 

ply. 

“ And  when  they  have  been  enriched,  what  more  shall 
be  done?”  The  Master  said,  “Teach  them.” 

“ ‘ If  good  men  were  to  govern  a country  in  succession 
for  a hundred  years,  they  would  be  able  to  transform  the 
violently  bad,  and  dispense  with  capital  punishments.’ 
True,  indeed,  is  this  saying!” 

“ If  a minister  make  his  own  conduct  correct,  what 
difficulty  will  he,  have  in  assisting  in  government  ? If  he 
cannot  rectify  himself,  what  has  he  to  do  with  rectifying 
others  ? ” 

The  duke  of  She  asked  about  government. 

The  Master  said,  “ Good  government  obtains,  whe?i  those 
who  are  near  are  made  happy,  and  those  who  are  far  off 
are  attracted.” 

Heen  asked  what  was  shameful.  The  Master  said, 
“ When  good  government  prevails  in  a State,  to  be  think- 
ing only  of  his  salary ; and,  when  bad  government  pre- 
vails, to  be  thinking,  in  the  same  way,  only  of  his  salary: 
this  is  shameful.” 

6 


122 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


The  Master  said,  “When  rulers  love  to  observe  the 
rules  of  propriety,  the  people  respond  readily  to  the  calls 
on  them  for  sendee.” 

The  duke  Ling  of  Wei  asked  Confucius  about  tactics. 
Confucius  replied,  “ I have  heard  all  about  sacrificial  ves- 
sels, but  I have  not  learned  military  matters.”  On  this, 
he  took  his  departure  the  next  day.* 

Chow  conferred  great  gifts,  and  the  good  were  en- 
riched. 

“ Although  he  has  his  near  relatives,  they  are  not  equal 
to  very  virtuous  men.  The  people  are  throwing  blame 
upon  me,  the  one  man.” 

He  carefully  attended  to  the  weights  and  measures,  ex- 
amined the  body  of  the  laws,  restored  the  discarded  offi- 
cers, and  the  good  government  of  the  empire  took  its 
course. 

He  revived  States  that  had  been  extinguished,  restored 
families  whose  line  of  succession  had  been  broken,  and 
called  to  office  those  who  had  retired  into  obscurity,  so 
that  throughout  the  empire  the  hearts  of  the  people 
turned  towards  him. 

What  he  attached  chief  importance  to  were,  the  food 
of  the  people,  the  duties  of  mourning,  and  sacrifices. 

By  his  generosity,  he  won  all.  By  his  sincerity,  he 
made  the  people  repose  trust  in  him.  By  his  earnest  ac- 
tivity’, his  achievements  were  great.  By  his  justice,  all 
were  delighted. 


* lie  wished,  by  his  reply  and  departure,  to  teach  the  duke  that 
the  rules  of  propriety,  and  not  war,  were  essential  to  the  govern- 
ment of  a State 


OX  GOVERNMENT. 


x-3 


INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  PRINCES  AND  MINISTERS. 

The  duke  Ting  asked  how  a prince  should  employ 
his  ministers,  and  how  ministers  should  serve  their  prince. 
Confucius  replied,  “ A prince  should  employ  his  minis- 
ters according  to  the  rules  of  propriety ; ministers  should 
serve  their  prince  with  faithfulness.” 

The  Master  said,  “ Is  a prince  able  to  govern  his  king- 
dom with  the  complaisance  proper  to  the  rules  of  pro- 
priety, what  difficulty  will  he  have  ? If  he  cannot  govern 
it  with  that  complaisance,  what  has  he  to  do  with  the 
rules  of  propriety  ?” 

Tsze-chang  asked,  saying,  “The  minister  Tsze-wain 
thrice  took  office,  and  manifested  no  joy  in  his  counte- 
nance. Thrice  he  retired  from  office,  and  manifested  no 
displeasure.  He  made  it  a point  to  inform  the  new  min- 
ister of  the  way  in  which  he  had  conducted  the  govern- 
ment ; what  do  you  say  of  him  ? ” The  Master  replied, 
“ He  was  loyal.”  “ Was  he  perfectly  virtuous  ? ” “ I do 

not  know.  How  can  he  be  pronounced  perfectly  virtu- 
ous ? ” 

The  Master  said,  “ What  is  called  a great  minister  is 
one  who  serves  his  prince  according  to  what  is  right,  and 
when  he  finds  he  cannot  do  so,  retires.” 

“ A minister,  in  serving  his  prince,  reverently  dis- 
charges his  duties,  and  makes  his  emolument  a sec- 
ondary consideration.” 

Tsze-hea  said,  “The  officer,  having  discharged  all  his 
duties , should  devote  his  leisure  to  learning.  The  stu- 
dent, having  completed  his  learning,  should  apply  himself 
to  be  an  officer.” 


124 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


EXAMPLES  OF  WELL  GOVERNED  STATES. 

Tsze-chang  asked  Confucius,  saying,  “ In  what  way 
should  a person  in  authority  act  in  order  that  he  may 
conduct  government  properly?”  The  Master  replied, 
“ Let  him  honor  the  five  excellent,  and  banish  away  the 
four  bad  things  ; then  may  he  conduct  government  prop- 
erly.” Tsze-chang  said,  “What  are  meant  by  the  five 
excellent  things  ? ” The  Master  said,  “ When  the  person 
in  authority  is  beneficent  without  great  expenditure  ; 
when  he  lays  tasks  on  the  people  without  their  repining ; 
when  he  pursues  what  he  desires  without  being  cov- 
etous ; when  he  maintains  a dignified  ease  without  being 
proud  ; when  he  is  majestic  without  being  fierce.” 

Tsze-chang  said,  “ What  is  meant  by  being  beneficent 
without  great  expenditure  ? ” The  Master  replied,  “ When 
the  person  in  authority  makes  more  beneficial  to  the  peo- 
ple the  things  from  which  they  naturally  derive  benefit ; 
is  not  this  being  beneficent  without  great  expenditure  ? 
When  he  chooses  the  laborers  which  are  proper,  and 
makes  them  labor  on  them,  who  will  repine  ? When  his 
desires  are  set  on  benevolent  government , and  he  realizes 
it,  who  will  accuse  him  of  covetousness  ? Whether  he  has 
to  do  with  many  people  or  few,  or  with  things  great  or 
small,  he  does  not  dare  to  indicate  any  disrespect ; is  not 
this  to  maintain  a dignified  ease  without  any  pride  ? 
He  adjusts  his  clothes  and  cap,  and  throws  a dignity 
into  his  looks,  so  that,  thus  dignified,  he  is  looked  at 
with  awe  ; is  not  this  to  be  majestic  without  being  fierce  ?” 

Tsze-chang  then  asked,  “ What  are  meant  by  the  four 
bad  things?”  The  Master  said,  “ To  put  the  people  to 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


*25 

death  without  having  instructed  them  ; this  is  called  cru- 
elty. To  require  from  them  suddenly  the  full  tale  of 
work,  without  having  given  them  warning  ; this  is  called 
oppression.  To  issue  orders  as  if  without  urgency  at  first , 
and,  when  the  time  comes,  to  insist  on  them  with  severity  ; 
this  is  called  injury.  And,  generally  speaking,  to  give 
pay  or  rewards  to  men,  and  yet  to  do  it  in  a stingy  way ; 
tliis  is  called  acting  the  part  of  a mere  official.” 


i_'6 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


CHAPTER  VT. 

MAXIMS. 

The  Master  said,  “ Things  that  are  clone,  it  is  needless 
to  speak  about ; things  that  have  had  their  course,  it  is 
needless  to  remonstrate  about;  things  that  are  past,  it  is 
needless  to  blarne.” 

“ When  we  see  men  of  worth,  we  should  think  of 
equaling  them  ; when  we  see  men  of  a contrary  charac- 
ter, we  should  turn  inwards  and  examine  ourselves.” 
Tsze-loo  said,  “ If  you  had  the  conduct  of  the  armies 
of  a great  State,  whom  would  you  have  to  act  with  you?” 
The  Master  said,  “ I would  not  have  him  to  act  with 
me,  who  will  unarmed  attack  a tiger,  or  cross  a river 
without  a boat,  dying  without  any  regret.  My  associate 
must  be  the  man  who  proceeds  to  action  full  of  solici- 
tude, who  is  fond  of  adjusting  his  plans,  and  then  carries 
them  into  execution.” 

“ The  people  may  be  made  to  follow  a path  of  action, 
but  they  may  not  be  made  to  understand  it.” 

“ The  man  who  is  fond  of  daring  and  is  dissatisfied 
with  poverty,  will  proceed  to  insubordination.  So  will 
the  man  who  is  not  virtuous,  when  you  carry  your  dis- 
like of  him  to  an  extreme.” 

Though  a man  have  abilities  as  admirable  as  those 


MAXIMS. 


127 


of  the  duke  of  Chow,  yet  if  he  be  proud  and  niggardly, 
those  other  things  are  really  not  worth  being  looked  at.” 
“ He  who  is  not  in  any  particular  office,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  plans  for  the  administration  of  its  duties.”* 

“ The  wise  are  free  from  perplexities  ; the  virtuous 
from  anxiety ; and  the  bold  from  fear.” 

“ Do  not  be  desirous  to  have  things  done  quickly ; do 
not  look  at  small  advantages.  Desire  to  have  things  done 
quickly  prevents  their  being  done  thoroughly.  Looking 
at  small  advantages  prevents  great  affairs  from  being 
accomplished.” 

Tsze-Ivung  asked,  saying,  “ What  do  you  say  of  a man 
who  is  loved  by  all  the  people  of  his  village  ? ” The 
Master  replied,  “ We  may  not  for  that  accord  our  ap- 
proval of  him.”  “And  what  do  you  say  of  him  who  is 
hated  by  all  the  people  of  his  village  ? ” The  Master 
said,  “ We  may  not  for  that  conclude  that  he  is  bad.  It 
is  better  than  either  of  these  cases  that  the  good  in  the 
village  love  him,  and  the  bad  hate  him.”f 

The  Master  said,  “ To  lead  an  uninstructed  people  to 
war,  is  to  throw  them  away.” 

“ To  be  poor  without  murmuring  is  difficult.  To  be 
rich  without  being  proud  is  easy.” 

“ He  who  speaks  without  modesty  will  find  it  difficult 
to  make  his  words  good.” 

“ If  a man  take  no  thought  about  what  is  distant,  he 
will  find  sorrow  near  at  hand.” 

“ He  who  requires  much  from  himself  and  little  from 


* Ever}'  man  should  mind  his  own  business, 
t To  judge  of  a man  from  the  likings  and  dislilcings  of  others, 
we  must  know  the  character  of  those  others. 


128 


CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 


others,  will  keep  himself  from  being  the  object  of  resent- 
ment.” 

“ When  the  multitude  hate  a man,  it  is  necessary  to 
examine  into  the  case.  When  the  multitude  like  a man, 
it  is  necessary  to  examine  into  the  case.” 

“To  have  faults  and  not  to  reform  them — this,  indeed, 
should  be  pronounced  having  faults.” 

“ Those  whose  courses  are  different  cannot  lay  plans 
for  one  another.” 

“ Why  use  an  ox-knife  to  kill  a fowl  ? ” (Dispropor- 
tioned  effort.) 

“ ‘ It  is  according  to  the  rules  of  propriety,’  they  say. 
‘ It  is  according  to  the  rules  of  propriety  ’ they  say  : Are 
gems  and  silk,  all  that  is  meant  by  propriety  ? ‘ It  is 

Music,’  they  say.  ‘ It  is  Music,’  they  say  : Are  bells  and 
drums,  all  that  is  meant  by  music  ? ”* 

“ When  a man  at  forty  is  the  object  of  dislike,  he  will 
always  continue  what  he  is.” 

“ The  mean  man  is  sure  to  gloss  his  faults. 

“ When  you  have  found  out  the  truth  of  any  accusation , 
be  grieved  for  and  pity  them,  and  do  not  feel  joy  at  your 
own  ability .” 

“ The  superior  man  hates  to  dwell  in  a low  lying  situ- 
ation, where  all  the  evil  of  the  world  will  flow  in  upon 
him.”t 

“ For  one  word,  a man  is  often  deemed  to  be  wise,  and 


* It  is  not  the  external  appurtenances  which  constitute  propri- 
ety ; nor  the  sound  of  instruments,  which  constitutes  music. 

t “ A low  lying  situation,”  to  which  the  streams  flow  and  waters 
drain,  representing  here  a bad  reputation,  which  gets  the  credit  of 
every  vice. 


MAXIMS. 


129 

for  one  word  he  is  often  deemed  to  be  foolish.  We  ought 
to  be  careful  indeed  in  what  we  say.” 

DETACHED  SENTENCES. 

The  Master  said,  “ The  reason  why  the  ancients  did 
not  readily  give  utterance  to  their  words  was,  that  they 
feared  lest  their  actions  should  not  come  up  to  them.” 

“ The  cautious  seldom  err.” 

“ What  is  the  good  of  being  ready  with  the  tongue  ? 
They  who  meet  men  with  smartness  of  speech,  for  the 
most  part  procure  themselves  hatred.  I know  not 
whether  he  be  truly  virtuous,  but  why  should  he  show 
readiness  of  the  tongue  ?” 

Ke  AVan  thought  twice,  and  then  acted.  When  the 
Master  was  informed  of  it,  he  said,  “ Twice  may  do.”* 
The  Master  asked  Kung-ming  Kea  about  Kung-shuh 
Wan,  saying,  “ Is  it  true  that  your  Master  speaks  not, 
laughs  not,  and  takes  not  ?” 

Kung-ming  Kea  replied,  “ This  has  arisen  from  the 
reporters  going  beyond  the  truth.  My  Master  speaks 
when  it  is  the  time  to  speak,  and  so  men  do  not  get  tired 
of  his  speaking.  He  laughs  when  there  is  occasion  to 
be  joyful,  and  so  men  do  not  get  tired  of  his  laughing. 
He  takes  when  it  is  consistent  with  righteousness  to  do 
so,  and  so  men  do  not  get  tired  of  his  taking. ”f 


6* 


* Think  twice  before  you  speak  once, 
t There  is  a time  for  all  things. 


THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 


130 


BOOK  II. 

TAI  HOH,  OR  THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 

My  master , the  philosopher  Citing,  says : “ The  Great 
Learning  is  a book  left  by  Confucius , and  forms  the  gate 
by  which  first  learners  enter  into  virtue.  That  we  can 
now  perceive  the  order  in  which  the  ancients  pursued  their 
learning  is  solely  owing  to  the  preservation  of  this  work,  the 
Analects  and  Mencius  coming  after  it.  Learners  must 
commence  their  course  with  this,  and  then  it  may  be  hoped 
they  will  be  kept  from  error." 

What  the  Great  Learning  teaches  is,  to  illustrate  illus- 
trious virtue,  to  renovate  the  people,  and  to  rest  in  the 
highest  excellence. 

The  point  where  to  rest  being  known,  the  object  of  pursuit 
is  then  determined ; and  that  being  determined,  a calm  and 
unperturbedness  may  be  attained.  To  that  calmness  there 
will  succeed  a tranquil  repose.  In  that  repose  there  may  be 
careful  deliberation,  and  that  deliberation  will  be  followed 
by  the  attainment  of  the  desired  end. 


SELF-CONTROL  A PREREQUISITE  TO  GOVERNMENT.  13I 


CHAPTER  I. 

HE  WHO  WOULD  GOVERN  WELL  A FAMILY  MUST  HIM- 
SELF FIRST  BECOME  CORRECT  ) TO  GOVERN  WELL  A 

STATE,  LET  THE  FAMILY  FIRST  BE  REGULATED. 

ft 

Things  have  their  root  and  their  completion.  Affairs  ‘ 
have  their  end  and  their  beginning.  To  know  Avhat  is 
first  and  what  is  last  will  lead  near  to  what  is  taught  in  f( 
the  Great  Learning. 

The  ancients  who  wished  to  illustrate  illustrious  virtue 
throughout  the  empire,  first  ordered  well  their  own 
States.  Wishing  to  order  well  their  States,  they  first 
regulated  their  families.  Wishing  to  regulate  their  fam- 
ilies, they  first  cultivated  their  persons.  Wishing  to  cul- 
tivate their  persons,  they  first  rectified  their  hearts. 
Wishing  to  rectify  their  hearts,  they  first  thought  to  be 
sincere  in  their  thoughts.  Wishing  to  be  sincere  in  their 
thoughts,  they  first  extended  to  the  utmost  their  knowl- 
edge. Such  extension  of  knowledge  lay  in  the  investi- 
gation of  things. 

Things  being  investigated,  knowledge  became  com- 
plete. Their  knowledge  being  complete,  their  thoughts 
were  sincere.  Their  thoughts  being  sincere,  their  hearts 


132 


THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 


were  then  rectified.  Their  hearts  being  rectified,  their 
persons  were  cultivated.  Their  persons  being  cultivated, 
their  families  were  regulated.  Their  families  being  reg- 
ulated, their  States  were  rightly  governed.  Their  States 
being  rightly  governed,  the  whole  empire  was  made  tran- 
quil and  happy. 

From  the  emperor  down  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  all 
must  consider  the  cultivation  of  the  person  the  root  of 
everything  besides. 

It  cannot  be,  when  the  root  is  neglected,  that  what 
should  spring  from  it  will  be  well  ordered.  It  never  has 
been  the  case  that  what  was  of  great  importance  has 
been  slightly  cared  for,  and  at  the  same  time  that  what 
was  of  slight  importance  has  been  greatly  cared  for. 

What  is  meant  by  “ In  order  rightly  to  govern  his 
State,  it  is  necessary  first  to  regulate  his  family,”  is  this  : 
It  is  not  possible  for  one  to  teach  others,  while  he  can- 
not teach  his  own  family.  Therefore  the  ruler,  without 
going  beyond  his  family,  completes  the  lessons  for  the 
State.  There  is  filial  piety;  therewith  the  sovereign 
should  be  served.  There  is  fraternal  submission  ; there- 
with elders  and  superiors  should  be  served.  There  is 
kindness  ; therewith  the  multitude  should  be  treated. 

Yaou  and  Shun  led  on  the  empire  with  benevolence, 
and  the  people  followed  them.  Kee  and  Chow  led  on 
the  empire  with  violence,  and  the  people  followed  them. 
The  orders  which  these  issued  were  contrary  to  the  prac- 
tices which  they  loved,  and  so  the  people  did  not  follow 
them.  On  this  account,  the  ruler  must  himself  be  pos- 
sessed of  the  gaad  qualities,  and  then  he  may  require  them 
in  the  people.  He  must  not  have  the  bad  qualities  in 
himself,  and  then  he  may  require  that  they  shall  not  be 


SELF-CONTROL  A PREREQUISITE  TO  GOVERNMENT.  1 33 


in  the  people.  Never  has  there  been  a man,  who,  not 
having  reference  to  his  own  character  and  wishes  in  deal- 
ing with  others,  was  able  effectually  to  instruct  them. 

Thus  we  see  how  the  government  of  the  State  depends 
on  the  regulation  of  the  family. 

In  the  Book  of  Poetry,  it  is  said,  “ In  his  deportment 
there  is  nothing  wrong ; he  rectifies  all  the  people  of  the 
State.”  Yes ; when  the  ruler,  as  a father,  a son,  and  a 
brother,  is  a model,  then  the  people  imitate  him. 

WHAT  THE  RULER  WOULD  HAVE  HIS  PEOPLE  DO,  HE  MUST 
DO  HIMSELF;  WHAT  HE  WOULD  HAVE  THEM  BE,  HE 
MUST  BE  HIMSELF. 

What  is  meant  by  “ The  making  the  whole  empire 
peaceful  and  happy  depends  on  the  government  of  his 
State,”  is  this  : When  the  sovereign  behaves  to  his  aged, 
as  the  aged  should  be  behaved  to,  the  people  become 
filial ; 'when  the  sovereign  behaves  to  his  elders,  as  eld- 
ers should  be  behaved  to,  the  people  learn  brotherly  sub- 
mission ; when  the  sovereign  treats  compassionately  the 
young  and  helpless,  the  people  do  the  same.  Thus  the 
ruler  has  a principle  with  which,  as  with  a measuring 
square,  he  may  regulate  his  conduct. 

What  a man  dislikes  in  his  superiors,  let  him  not  dis- 
play in  the  treatment  of  his  inferiors  ; what  he  dislikes 
in  inferiors,  let  him  not  display  in  the  service  of  his  su- 
periors ; what  he  hates  in  those  who  are  before  him,  let 
him  not  therewith  precede  those  who  are  behind  him  ; 
what  he  hates  in  those  who  are  behind  him,  let  him  not 
therewith  follow  those  who  are  before  him ; what  he  hates 
to  receive  on  the  right,  let  him  not  bestow  on  the  left ; 


134 


THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 


what  he  hates  to  receive  on  the  left,  let  him  not  bestow 
on  the  right : this  is  what  is  called  “ The  principle  with 
which,  as  with  a measuring  square,  to  regulate  one’s  con- 
duct.” 

In  the  Book  of  Poetry,  it  is  said,  “ How  much  to  be 
rejoiced  in  are  these  princes,  the  parents  of  the  people !” 
When  a prince  loves  what  the  people  love,  and  hates 
what  the  people  hate,  then  is  he  what  is  called  the  parent 
of  the  people. 

Never  has  there  been  a case  of  the  sovereign  loving 
benevolence,  and  the  people  not  loving  righteousness. 
Never  has  there  been  a case  where  the  people  have  loved 
righteousness,  and  the  affairs  of  the  sovereign  have  not 
been  carried  to  completion.  And  never  has  there  been 
a case  where  the  wealth  in  such  a State,  collected  in  the 
treasuries  and  arsenals,  did  not  continue  in  the  sover- 
eign’s possession. 


OFFICES  NOT  TO  BE  SOUGHT  FOR  EMOLUMENTS.  1 35 


CHAPTER  II. 

WHAT  BECOMES  OF  A STATE  WHEN  OFFICES  ARE  SOUCIIT 
PRINCIPALLY  BECAUSE  OF  THEIR  EMOLUMENTS. 

The  ruler  will  first  take  pains  about  his  own  virtue. 
Possessing  virtue  will  give  him  the  people.  Possessing 
the  people  will  give  him  the  territory.  Possessing  the 
territory  will  give  him  its  wealth.  Possessing  the  wealth, 
he  will  have  resources  for  expenditure. 

Virtue  is  the  root ; wealth  is  the  result. 

If  he  make  the  root  his  secondary  object,  and  the  re- 
sult his  primary,  he  will  only  wrangle  with  his  people,  and 
teach  them  rapine. 

Hence,  the  accumulation  of  wealth  is  the  way  to  scat- 
ter the  people  ; and  the  letting  it  be  scattered  among 
them  is  the  way  to  collect  the  people. 

And  hence,  the  ruler’s  words  going  forth  contrary  to 
right,  will  come  back  to  him  in  the  same  way,  and  wealth 
gotten  by  improper  ways  will  take  its  departure  by  the 
same.* 


* He  made  a pit,  and  digged  it,  and  is  fallen  into  the  ditch  which 
he  made.  His  mischief  shall  return  upon  his  own  head,  and  his 
violent  dealings  shall  come  down  upon  his  own  pate.  Wealth  got- 
ten by  vanity  shall  be  diminished. — Scripture. 


THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 


136 


.In  the  declaration  of  the  duke  of  Ts'in,  it  is  said,  “ Let 
me  have  but  one  minister,  plain  and  sincere,  not  pretend- 
ing to  other  abilities,  but  with  a simple,  upright  mind  ; 
and  possessed  of  generosity,  regarding  the  talents  of  oth- 
ers as  though  he  himself  possessed  them,  and  where  he 
finds  accomplished  and  perspicacious  men,  loving  them 
in  his  heart  more  than  his  mouth  expresses,  and  really 
showing  himself  able  to  bear  them  and  employ  them  : 
such  a minister  will  be  able  to  preserve  my  sons  and 
grandsons,  and  black-haired  people,*  and  benefits  like- 
wise to  the  kingdom  may  be  looked  for  from  him.  But  if 
it  be  his  character , when  he  finds  men  of  ability,  to  be 
jealous  and  hate  them  ; and  when  he  finds  accomplished 
and  perspicacious  men,  to  oppose  them,  and  not  allow 
their  advancement,  showing  himself  really  not  able  to 
bear  them  : such  a minister  will  not  be  able  to  protect 
my  sons  and  grandsons,  and  black-haired  people  ; and 
may  he  not  also  be  pronounced  dangerous  to  the  State?” 

To  see  men  of  worth,  and  not  be  able  to  raise  them  to 
office  ; to  raise  them  to  office,  but  not  to  do  so  quickly  : 
this  is  disrespectful.  To  see  bad  men,  and  not  be  able 
to  remove  them  ; to  remove  them,  but  not  to  do  so  to  a 
distance  : this  is  weakness. 

To  love  those  whom  men  hate,  and  to  hate  those  whom 
men  love  : this  is  to  outrage  the  natural  feeling  of  men. 
Calamities  cannot  fail  to  come  down  on  him  who  does  so. 

There  is  a great  course,  also,  for  the  production  of 
wealth.  Let  the  producers  be  many,  and  the  consumers 
few.  Let  there  be  activity  in  the  production,  and  econ- 


* Black-haired  people  designates  the  middle-aged  men.  Chi- 
nese universally  have  black  hair,  until  age  turns  it  gray. 


OFFICES  NOT  TO  BE  SOUGHT  FOR  EMOLUMENTS.  I37 

omy  in  the  expenditure.  Then  the  wealth  will  always  be 
sufficient. 

The  virtuous  ruler , by  means  of  his  wealth,  makes 
himself  more  distinguished.  The  vicious  ruler  accu- 
mulates wealth  at  the  expense  of  his  life. 

When  he  who  presides  over  a State  or  a family  makes 
his  revenues  his  chief  business,  he  must  be  under  the 
influence  of  some  small,  mean  man.  He  may  consider 
this  man  to  be  good  ; but  when  such  a person  is  employed 
in  the  administration  of  a State  or  family,  calamities 
from  Heaven  and  injuries  from  men  will  befall  it  together, 
and  though  a good  man  may  take  his  place,  he  will  not 
be  able  to  remedy  the  evil.  This  illustrates  again  the 
saying,  “ In  a State,  gain  is  not  to  be  considered  pros- 
perity, but  its  prosperity  will  be  found  in  righteousness.” 


138 


THE  GREAT  LEARNING. 


CHAPTER  III. 

SELF  CULTURE. 

On  the  bathing-tub  of  T’ang,  the  following  words  were 
engraved  : “ If  you  can  one  day  renovate  yourself,  do  so 
from  day  to  day.  Yea,  let  there  be  daily  renovation.” 

In  the  Book  of  Poetry  it  is  said,  “ Profound  was  King 
W’an.  With  how  bright  and  unceasing  a feeling  of  rev- 
erence did  he  regard  his  resting  places  ! ” As  a sover- 
eign, he  rested  in  benevolence.  As  a minister,  he  rested 
in  reverence.  As  a son,  he  rested  in  filial  piety.  As  a 
father  he  rested  in  kindness.  In  communication  with 
his  subjects,  he  rested  in  good  faith. 

In  the  Book  of  Poetry,  it  is  said,  “ Look  at  that  wind- 
ing course  of  the  K’e,  with  the  green  bamboos  so  luxu- 
riant ! Here  is  our  elegant  and  accomplished  prince  ! 
As  we  cut,  and  then  file  ; as  we  chisel  and  then  g.rind  : 
so  has  he  cultivated  himself.  Plow  grave  is  he,  and  dig- 
nified ! How  majestic  and  distinguished  ! Our  elegant 
and  accomplished  prince  never  can  be  forgotten.”  That 
expression , “ as  we  cut,  and  then  file,”  indicates  the  work 
of  learning  ; “ as  we  chisel,  and  then  grind,”  indicates 
that  of  self-culture.  “ How  grave  is  he,  and  dignified  ! ” 
indicates  the  feeling  of  cautious  reverence.  “ How  com- 


SELF-CULTURE. 


139 


mantling  and  distinguished,”  indicates  an  awe-inspiring 
deportment.  “ Our  elegant  and  accomplished  prince 
never  can  be  forgotten,”  indicates  how,  when  virtue  is 
complete  and  excellence  extreme,  the  people  cannot  for- 
get them. 

What  is  meant  by  “ The  cultivation  of  the  person  de- 
pends on  rectifying  the  mind,”  may  be  thus  illustrated : 

If  a man  be  under  the  influence  of  passion,  he  will  be 
incorrect  in  his  conduct.  He  will  be  the  same  if  he  is 
under  the  influence  of  terror,  or  under  the  influence  of 
fond  regard,  or  under  that  of  sorrow  and  distress. 

When  the  mind  is  not  present,  we  look,  and  do  not 
see  ; we  hear,  and  do  not  understand  j we  eat,  and  do 
not  know  the  taste  of  what  we  eat. 

This  is  what  is  meant  by  saying  that  the  cultivation  of 
the  person  depends  on  the  rectifying  ff  the  mind. 

What  is  meant  by  “ The  regulation  of  one’s  family  de- 
pends on  the  cultivation  of  his  person,”  is  this  : Men 
are  partial  where  they  feel  affection  and  love  ; partial, 
where  they  despise  and  dislike  ; partial,  where  they  stand 
in  awe  and  reverence  ; partial,  where  they  feel  sorrow  and 
compassion ; partial,  where  they  are  arrogant  and  rude. 
Thus  it  is  that  there  are  few  men  in  the  world  who  love, 
and  at  the  same  time  know  the  bad  qualities  of  the  object 
of  their  love,  or  who  hate,  and  yet  know  the  excellence 
of  the  object  of  their  hatred. 

Hence  it  is  said,  in  the  common  adage,  “ A man  does 
not  know  the  wickedness  of  his  son ; he  does  not  know 
the  richness  of  his  growing  corn.” 


140 


THE  CREAT  LEARNING. 


ON  HAVING  THE  THOUGHTS  SINCERE. 

What  is  meant  by  “ making  the  thoughts  sincere,”  is 
the  allowing  no  self-deception,  as  when  we  hate  a bad 
odor,  and  as  when  we  love  what  is  beautiful.  This  is 
called  self-enjoyment.  Therefore  the  superior  man  must 
be  watchful  over  himself  when  he  is  alone. 

There  is  no  evil  to  which  the  mean  man,  dwelling  re- 
tired, will  not  proceed,  but  when  he  sees  a superior  man 
he  instantly  tries  to  disguise  himself,  concealing  his  evil, 
and  displaying  what  is  good.  The  other  beholds  him,  as 
if  he  saw  his  heart  and  veins;  of  what  use  is  his  disguise ? 
This  is  an  instance  of  the  saying — “ What  truly  is  within 
will  be  manifested  without.”  Therefore,  the  superior 
man  must  be  watchful  over  himself  when  he  is  alone. 

Riches  adorn  a house,  and  virtue  adorns  the  person. 
The  mind  is  expanded,  and  the  body  is  at  ease.  There- 
f fore,  the  superior  man  must  make  his  thoughts  sincere. 


PROLEGOMENA. 


141 


BOOK  III. 


THE  CHUNG  YUNG,  OR  THE  DOCTRINE  OF 
THE  MEAN. 


PROLEGOMENA  BY  THE  PHILOSOPHER  CH’lNG. 

My  master , the  philosopher  Ch'ing , says:  “ Being  without 
inclination  to  either  side  is  called  chung  ; admitting  of  no 
change  is  called  yung.  By  chung  is  denoted  the  direct 
course  to  be  pursued  by  all  under  heaven  ; by  yung  is  de- 
noted the  fixed  principle  regulating  all  utider  heaven.  This 
work  contains  the  law  of  the  mind , which  was  handed  down 
from  one  to  another , in  the  Confucian  school ',  till  Tsze-sze, 
fearing  lest  in  the  course  of  time  errors  should  arise  about 
it , committed  it  to  writing , and  delivered  it  to  Mencius.  The 
book  first  speaks  of  one  principle ; it  next  spreads  this  out, 
and  embraces  all  things ; finally,  it  returns  and  gathers 
them  all  up  under  one  principle.  Unroll  it,  and  it  fills  the 
universe  ; roll  it  up,  and  it  retires  and  lies  hid  in  mysteri- 
ousness. The  relish  of  it  is  inexhaustible.  The  whole  of  it 
is  solid  learning.  When  the  skillful  reader  has  explored  it 
with  delight  till  he  has  apprehended  it,  he  may  carry  it  into 
practice  all  his  life,  and  will  find  that  it  cannot  be  exhausted. 


I.}2 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PATH  OF  DUTY — ITS  ORIGIN  IN  HEAVEN. 

A doctrine  extensively  taught  in  this  third  book  is, 
that  man  by  nature  is  originally  good,  having  the  nature 
he  received  from  heaven ; and  conduct  in  accordance  with 
that  nature  constitutes  what  is  right  and  true. 

What  heaven  has  conferred  is  called  the  nature  ; an 
accordance  with  this  nature  is  called  the  path  of  duty; 
the  regulation  of  this  path  is  called  instruction. 

The  path  may  not  be  left  for  an  instant.  If  it  could 
be  left,  it  would  not  be  the  path.  On  this  account,  the 
superior  man  does  not  wait  till  he  sees  things,  to  be  cau- 
tious; nor  till  he  hears  things,  to  be  apprehensive. 

While  there  are  no  stirrings  of  pleasure,  anger,  sorrow, 
or  joy,  the  mind  may  be  said  to  be  in  a state  of  equilib- 
rium. When  those  feelings  have  been  stirred,  and  they 
act  in  their  due  degree,  there  ensues  what  may  be  called 
the  state  of  harmony. 

This  equilibrium  is  the  great  root  from  which  grow 
all  the  human  actings  in  the  world,  and  this  harmony  is 
the  universal  path  which  they  all  should  pursue. 

Let  the  states  of  equilibrium  and  harmony  exist  in  per- 


TIIE  PATH  OF  DUTY — ITS  ORIGIN  IN  HEAVEN.  1 43 


fcction,  and  a happy  order  will  prevail  throughout  heaven 
and  earth,  and  all  things  will  be  nourished  and  flourish.4 


CONFUCIUS  AFFIRMS  THAT  HEAVEN  HAS  CONFERRED  A PER- 
FECT NATURE  UPON  ALL,  YET  MOURNS  THAT  THE  PATH 
OF  THE  PERFECT  NATURE  IS  UNTRODDEN. 

The  Master  said,  “ Perfect  is  the  virtue  which  is  ac- 
cording to  the  Mean  ! Rare  have  they  long  been  among 
the  people,  who  could  practice  it ! ” 

“ I know  how  it  is  that  the  path  of  the  Mean  is  not 
walked  in : the  knowing  go  beyond  it,  and  the  stupid 
do  not  come  up  to  it.  I know  how  it  is  that  the  path  of 
the  Mean  is  not  understood : the  men  of  talents  and  vir- 
tue go  beyond  it,  and  the  worthless  do  not  come  up  to  it.” 
“Alas  ! How  is  the  path  of  the  Mean  untrodden  ! ” 

“ Men  all  say,  ‘We  are  wise;’  but  being  driven  for- 
ward, and  taken  in  a net,  a trap,  or  a pitfall,  they  know 
not  how  to  escape.  Men  all  say,  ‘We  are  wise  but 
happening  to  choose  the  course  of  the  Mean,  they  are 
not  able  to  keep  it  for  a round  month.” 

“ The  empire,  its  States,  and  its  families,  may  be  per- 
fectly ruled  ■>  dignities  and  emoluments  may  be  declined  ; 
naked  weapons  may  be  trampled  under  the  feet ; but  the 
course  of  the  Mean  cannot  be  attained  to.” 

“ The  path  is  not  far  from  man.  When  men  try  to 
pursue  a course  which  is  far  from  the  common  indica- 


* By  heaven  and  earth  are  here  meant  what  were  supposed  to  he 
the  parent  powers  of  the  universe,  on  which  depend  the  generation 
and  nourishing  of  all  things. 


144  THE  DOCTRINE  of  the  mean. 

tions  of  consciousness,  this  course  cannot  be  considered 

THE  PATH.”* 

THE  GOLDEN  RULE  NEGATIVELY  AND  POSITIVELY  EX- 
PRESSED. CONFUCIUS  CONFESSES  THAT  HE  HAS  NOT 

ATTAINED  TO  IT. 

“ When  one  cultivates  to  the  utmost  the  principles  of 
his  nature,  and  exercises  them  on  the  principle  of  reci- 
procity, he  is  not  far  from  the  path.  What  you  do  not 
like,  when  done  to  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others.” 

“ In  the  way  of  the  superior  man  there  are  four  things, 
to  not  one  of  which  have  I as  yet  attained.  To  serve  my 
father,  as  I would  require  my  son  to  serve  me  : to  this  I 
have  not  attained.  To  serve  my  prince,  as  I would  re- 
quire my  minister  to  serve  me  : to  this  I have  not  attained. 
To  serve  my  elder  brother  as  I -would  require  my  young- 
er brother  to  serve  me  : to  this  I have  not  attained.  To 
set  the  example  in  behaving  to  a friend,  as  I would  re- 
quire him  to  behave  to  me : to  this  I have  not  attained. 
Earnest  in  practicing  the  ordinary  virtues,  and  careful  in 
speaking  about  them,  if,  in  his  practice,  he  has  anything 
defective,  the  superior  man  dares  not  but  exert  himself ; 
and  if,  in  his  words,  he  has  any  excess,  he  dares  not 
allow  himself  such  license.  Thus  his  words  have  respect 
to  his  actions,  and  his  actions  have  respect  to  his  words: 
is  it  not  just  an  entire  sincerity  which  marks  the  superior 
man  ? ” 


* The  path  of  the  Mean  is  not  far  to  seek.  Each  man  has  the 
law  of  it  in  himself,  and  it  is  to  be  pursued  with  earnest  sincerity. 


THE  PATH  OF  DUTY — ITS  ORIGIN  IN  HEAVEN.  145 


DISCHARGE  WITH  CHEERFULNESS  THE  DUTIES  OF  YOUR 

STATION,  NOR  MURMUR  AT  THE  APPOINTMENTS  OF 

HEAVEN. 

The  superior  man  does  what  is  proper  to  the  station 
in  which  he  is  ; he  does  not  desire  to  go  beyond  this. 

In  a position  of  wealth  and  honor  he  does  what  is 
proper  to  a position  of  wealth  and  honor.  In  a poor 
and  low  position,  he  does  what  is  proper  to  a poor  and 
low  position.  Situated  among  barbarous  tribes,  he  does 
what  is  proper  to  a situation  among  barbarous  tribes.  In 
a position  of  sorrow  and  difficulty,  he  does  what  is  proper 
to  a position  of  sorrow  and  difficulty.  The  superior 
man  can  find  himself  in  no  situation  in  which  he  is  not 
himself. 

In  a high  situation,  he  does  not  treat  with  contempt 
his  inferiors.  In  a low  situation,  he  does  not  court  the 
favor  of  his  superiors.  He  rectifies  himself,  and  seeks 
for  nothing  from  others,  so  that  he  has  no  dissatisfac- 
tions. He  does  not  murmur  against  heaven,  nor  grum- 
ble against  men. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  superior  man  is  quiet  and  calm, 
waiting  for  the  appointments  of  Heaven  ; while  the  mean 
man  walks  in  dangerous  paths,  looking  for  lucky  occur- 
rences. 

The  Master  said,  “ In  archery,  we  have  something  like 
the  way  of  the  superior  man.  When  the  archer  misses 
the  center  of  the  target,  he  turns  round  and  seeks  for  the 
cause  of  his  failure  in  himself.” 


7 


t \C> 


T1IE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A PORTRAITURE  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN  WHO  WALKS  IN 
THE  PATH  OF  THE  MEAN. 

“ The  superior  man  cultivates  a friendly  harmony,  with- 
out being  weak.  How  firm  is  he  in  his  energy  ! He 
stands  erect  in  the  middle,  without  inclining  to  either 
side.  How  firm  is  he  in  his  energy  ! When  good  princi- 
ples prevail  in  the  government  of  his  country,  he  does 
not  change  from  what  he  was  in  retirement.  How  firm 
is  he  in  his  energy  ! AVhen  bad  principles  prevail  in  the 
country,  he  maintains  his  course  to  death  without  chang- 
ing. How  firm  is  he  in  his  energy ! ” 

“ The  superior  man  accords  with  the  course  of  the 
Mean.  Though  he  may  be  all  unknown,  unregarded  by 
the  world,  he  feels  no  regrets.  It  is  only  the  sage  who 
is  able  for  this.” 

The  way  which  the  superior  man  pursues,  reaches  wide 
and  far,  and  yet  is  secret. 

Common  men  and  women,  however  ignorant,  may  in- 
termeddle with  the  knowledge  of  it ; yet  in  its  utmost 
reaches,  there  is  that  which  even  the  sage  does  not  know. 
Common  men  and  women,  however  much  below  the  or- 
dinary standard  of  character,  can  carry  it  into  practice ; 


PORTRAITURE  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


147 


yet  in  its  utmost  reaches,  there  is  that  which  even  the 
sage  is  not  able  to  carry  into  practice.  Great  as  heaven 
and  earth  are,  men  still  find  some  things  in  them  with 
which  to  be  dissatisfied.  Thus  it  is,  that  were  the  supe- 
rior man  to  speak  of  his  way  in  all  its  greatness,  nothing 
in  the  world  would  be  found  able  to  embrace  it ; and  were 
he  to  speak  of  it  in  its  minuteness,  nothing  in  the  world 
would  be  found  able  to  split  it. 

The  way  of  the  superior  man  may  be  compared  to 
what  takes  place  in  traveling,  when  to  go  to  a distance, 
we  must  first  traverse  the  space  that  is  near,  and  in  as- 
cending a height,  we  must  begin  from  the  lower  ground. 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  ofePoetry,  “Although  the  fish  sink 
and  lie  at  the  bottom,  it  is  still  quite  clearly  seen.” 
Therefore  the  superior  man  examines  his  heart,  that  there 
may  be  nothing  wrong  thtre,  and  that  he  may  have  no 
cause  for  dissatisfaction  with  himself.  That  wherein  the 
superior  man  cannot  be  equaled  is  simply  this : his  worh, 
which  other  men  cannot  see. 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  “ Looked  at  in  your 
apartment,  be  there  free  from  shame,  where  you  are  ex- 
posed to  the  light  of  heaven.”  Therefore,  the  superior 
man,  even  when  he  is  not  moving,  has  a feeling  of  rever- 
erence,  and  while  he  speaks  not,  he  has  the  feeling  of 
thoughtfulness. 

Sincerity  is  the  way  of  heaven.  The  attainment  of 
sincerity  is  the  way  of  men.  He  who  possesses  sincerity 
is  he  who,  without  an  effort,  hits  what  is  right,  and  appre- 
hends, without  the  exercise  of  thought ; he  is  the  sage 
who  naturally  and  easily  embodies  the  right  way.  He 
who  attains  to  sincerity  is  he  who  chooses  what  is  good, 
and  firmly  holds  it  fast. 


148 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 


“To  this  attainment  there  are  requisite  the  extensive 
study  of  what  is  good,  accurate  inquiry  about  it,  careful 
reflection  on  it,  the  clear  discrimination  of  it,  and  the 
earnest  practice  of  it.” 


CONFUCIUS  THE  EQUAL  OF  HEAVEN. 

Confucius  is  by  his  disciples  set  up  as  the  pattern  of 
the  perfectly  sincere  man,  and  is  compared  to  heaven  and 
earth.  Heaven  and  earth  are  worshiped  as  divine,  and 
so  is  Confucius. 

Chung-ne  ( Chung-ne,  the  marriage  name  gf  Confucius ) 
handed  down  the  doctrines  c^.Yaou  and  Shun,  as.j/  they 
had  been  his  ancestors,  and  elegantly  displayed  the  reg- 
ulations of  Wan  and  Woo,  taking  them  as  his  model. 
Above,  he  harmonized  with  the  times  of  heaven,  and  be- 
low, he  was  conformed  to  the  water  and  land. 

He  may  be  compared  to  heaven  and  earth,  in  their 
supporting  and  containing,  their  overshadowing  and  cur- 
taining all  things.  He  may  be  compared  to  the  four 
seasons  in  their  alternating  progress,  and  to  the  sun  and 
moon  in  their  successive  shining. 

All-embracing  and  vast,  he  is  like  heaven.  Deep  and 
active  as  a fountain,  he  is  like  the  abyss.  He  is  seen, 
and  the  people  all  reverence  him  ; he  speaks,  and  the 
people  all  believe  him  : he  acts,  and  the  people  all  are 
pleased  with  him.  Therefore  his  fame  overspreads  the 
Middle  Kingdom,  and  extends  to  all  barbarous  tribes. 
Wherever  ships  and  carriages  reach;  wherever  the  strength 


PORTRAITURE  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


1,49 


of  man  penetrates  ; wherever  the  heavens  overshadow 
and  the  earth  sustains  ; wherever  the  sun  and  moon  shine  ; 
wherever  frosts  and  dews  fall  : all  who  have  blood  and 
breath  unfeignedly  honor  and  love  him.  Hence  it  is 
said,  “ He  is  the  equal  of  heaven.” 

It  is  only  the  individual  possessed  of  the  most  entire 
sincerity  that  can  exist  under  heaven,  who  can  adjust  the 
great  invariable  relations  of  mankind,  establish  the  great 
fundamental  virtues  of  humanity,  and  know  the  trans- 
forming and  nurturing  operations  of  Heaven  and  Earth  : 
shall  this  individual  have  any  being  or  anything  beyond 
himself  on  which  he  depends  ? 

Call  him  man  in  his  ideal,  how  earnest  is  he  ! Call 
him  an  abyss,  how  deep  is  he  ! Call  him  heaven,  how 
vast  is  he ! 

Who  can  know  him  but  he  who  is  indeed  quick  in  ap- 
prehension, clear  in  discernment,  of  far-reaching  intelli- 
gence, and  all-embracing  knowledge,  possessing  all 
heavenly  virtue  ? 


ijo 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 


CHAPTER  lit 

STANDARD  RULES  FOR  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  EMPIRE. 

“ All  who  have  the  government  of  the  empire  with  its 
States  and  families,  have  nine  standard  rules  to  follow, 
viz  : the  cultivation  of  their  own  characters  ; the  honor- 
ing of  men  of  virtue  and  talents  ; affection  towards  their 
relatives  j respect  toward  the  great  ministers  ; kind  and 
considerate  treatment  of  the  whole  body  of  officers ; deal- 
ing with  the  mass  of  the  people  as  children  ; encourag- 
ing the  resort  of  all  classes  of  artisans  ; indulgent  treat- 
ment of  men  from  a distance  ; and  the  kindly  cherishing 
of  the  princes  of  the  State. 

“ By  the  ruler’s  cultivation  of  his  own  character,  the 
duties  of  universal  obligation  are  set  forth.  By  honoring 
men  of  virtue  and  talents,  he  is  preserved  from  errors  of 
judgment.  By  showing  affection  to  his  relatives,  there  is 
no  grumbling  nor  resentment  among  his  uncles  and  breth- 
ren. By  respecting  the  great  ministers,  he  is  kept  from 
errors  in  the  practice  of  government.  By  kind  and  con- 
siderate treatment  of  the  whole  body  of  officers,  they  are 
led  to  make  the  most  grateful  return  for  his  courtesies.  By 
dealing  with  the  mass  of  the  people  as  his  children,  they 


STANDARD  RULES  FOR  GOVERNING  AN  EMPIRE.  1 5 1 

are  led  to  exhort  one  another  to  what  is  good.  By  en- 
couraging the  resort  of  all  classes  of  artisans,  his  resources 
for  expenditure  are  rendered  ample.  By  indulgent  treat- 
ment of  men  from  a distance,  they  are  brought  to  resort 
to  him  from  all  quarters.  And  by  kindly  cherishing  the 
princes  of  the  State,  the  whole  empire  is  brought  to  re- 
vere him. 

“ Self-adjustment  and  purification,  with  careful  regula- 
tion of  his  dress,  and  the  not  making  a movement  con- 
trary to  the  rules  of  propriety  : this  is  the  way  for  the 
ruler  to  cultivate  his  person.  Discarding  slanderers,  and 
keeping  himself  from,  the  seductions  of  beauty  ; making 
light  of  riches,  and  giving  honor  to  virtue  : this  is  the 
way  for  him  to  encourage  men  of  worth  and  talents. 
Giving  them  places  of  honor,  and  large  emoluments,  and 
sharing  with  them  in  their  likes  and  dislikes  : this  is  the 
way  for  him  to  encourage  his  relatives  to  love  him.  Giv- 
ing them  numerous  officers  to  discharge  their  orders  and 
commissions  : this  is  the  way  for  him  to  encourage  the 
great  ministers.  According  to  them  a generous  confi- 
dence, and  making  their  emoluments  large  : this  is  the 
way  to  encourage  the  body  of  officers.  Employing  them 
only  at  the  proper  times,  and  making  the  imposts  light  : 
this  is  the  way  to  encourage  the  people.  By  daily  exam- 
inations and  monthly  trials,  and  by  making  their  rations 
in  accordance  with  their  labors  : this  is  the  way  to  en- 
courage the  classes  of  artisans.  To  escort  them  on  their 
departure,  and  meet  them  on  their  coming ; to  commend 
the  good  among  them,  and  show  compassion  to  the  incom- 
petent : this  is  the  way  to  treat  indulgently  men  from  a 
distance.  To  restore  families  whose  line  of  succession 
has  been  broken,  and  to  revive  States  that  have  been  ex- 


152  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 

tinguished  ; to  reduce  to  order  States  that  are  in  confu- 
sion, and  support  those  which  are  in  peril  : to  have  fixed 
times  for  their  own  reception  at  court,  and  the  reception 
of  their  envoys  ; to  send  them  away  after  liberal  treat- 
ment, and  welcome  their  coming  with  small  contribu- 
tions : this  is  the  way  to  cherish  the  princes  of  the 
States.” 


RELIGION. 


153 


CHAPTER  IV. 


RELIGION. 


FILIAL  SERVICE  DUE  TO  THE  DEAD  AS  TO  THE  LIVING. 

The  Master  said,  “ How  far  extending  was  the  filial 
piety  of  king  Woo  and  the  duke  of  Chow  ! 

“ Now,  filial  piety  is  seen  in  the  skillful  carrying  out 
of  the  wishes  of  our  forefathers,  and  the  skillful  carrying 
forward  of  their  undertakings. 

“In  spring  and  autumn,  they  repaired  and  beautified 
the  temple-halls  of  their  fathers,  set  forth  their  ancestral 
vessels,  displayed  their  various  robes,  and  presented  the 
offerings  of  the  several  seasons. 

“ By  means  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  ancestral  temple, 
they  distinguished  the  imperial  kindred  according  to  their 
order  of  descent. 

“ They  occupied  the  places  of  their  forefathers,  prac- 
ticed their  ceremonies,  and  performed  their  music.  They 
reverenced  those  whom  they  honored,  and  loved  those 
whom  they  regarded  with  affection.  Thus  they  served 
the  dead  as  they  would  have  served  them  alive  ; they 
7* 


154 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 


served  the  departed  as  they  would  have  served  them  had 
they  been  continued  among  them.* 

“ By  the  ceremonies  of  the  sacrifices  to  Heaven  and 
Earth  they  served  God,  and  by  the  ceremonies  of  the 
ancestral  temple  they  sacrificed  to  their  ancestors.  He 
who  understands  the  ceremonies  of  the  sacrifices  to 
Heaven  and  Earth,  and  the  meaning  of  the  several  sac- 
rifices to  ancestors,  would  find  the  government  of  a king- 
dom as  easy  as  to  look  into  his  palm.” 


OF  SPIRITS. 

The  Master  said,  “ How  abundantly  do  spiritual  beings 
display  the  powers  that  belong  to  them  ! 

“ We  look  for  them,  but  we  do  not  see  them  ; we  listen 
to,  but  do  not  hear  them  ; yet  they  enter  into  all  things, 
and  there  is  nothing  without  them. 

“ They  cause  all  the  people  in  the  empire  to  fast  and 
purify  themselves,  and  array  themselves  in  their  richest 
dresses,  in  order  to  attend  at  their  sacrifices.  Then,  like 
overflowing  water,  they  seem  to  be  over  the  heads,  and 
on  the  right  and  left  of  their  worshipers.” 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  “ The  approaches  of 


* How  faithfully  has  this  instruction  been  repeated  and  obeyed 
down  through  a period  of  at  least  twenty-five  centuries  ! We  wit- 
ness the  same  at  every  funeral,  at  each  anniversary  of  the  death  of 
a parent,  at  the  morning  and  evening  worship  in  the  ancestral  hall, 
and  at  the  spring  festival — the  special  season  for  worship  of  ances- 
tors. 


RELIGION-. 


*55 

the  spirits  you  cannot  surmise,  and  can  you  treat  them 
with  indifference  ? ” * 


ABOUT  OMENS. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  most  entire  sincerity  to  be 
able  to  foreknow.  When  a nation  or  family  is  about  to 
flourish,  there  are  sure  to  be  happy  omens  ; and  when  it 
is  about  to  perish,  there  are  sure  to  be  unlucky  omens. 
Such  events  are  seen  in  the  milfoilf  and  tortoise,  and  af- 
fect the  movements  of  the  four  limbs.  When  calamity 
or  happiness  is  about  to  come,  the  good  shall  certainly 
be  foreknown  by  him,  and  the  evil  also.  Therefore  the 
individual  possessed  of  the  most  complete  sincerity  is 
like  a spirit. 


*The  Chinese  are  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage  because 
of  their  dread  of  spirits,  and  a large  part  of  their  religious  cere- 
monies and  offering  of  sacrifices  is  for  the  purpose  of  propitiating 
spirits,  of  which  there  are,  as  they  suppose,  many  classes. 

t A sort  of  labiate  plant  like  verhena,  anciently  used  in  divina- 


TIIE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 


I5<> 


CHAPTER  V. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


THE  FIVE  DUTIES  AND  THREE  VIRTUES. 

“ The  duties  of  universal  obligation  are  five,  and  the 
virtues  wherewith  they  are  practiced  are  three.  The  du- 
ties are  those  between  sovereign  and  minister,  between 
father  and  son,  between  husband  and  wife,  between  elder 
brother  and  younger,  and  those  belonging  to  the  inter- 
course of  friends.  Those  five  are  the  duties  of  universal 
obligation.  Knowledge,  magnanimity,  and  energy,  these 
three,  are  the  virtues  universally  binding.  And  the  means 
by  which  they  carry  the  duties  into  practice  is  singleness. 

“ Some  are  born  with  a knowledge  of  those  duties , some 
know  them  by  study,  and  some  acquire  the  knowledge 
after  a painful  feeling  of  their  ignorance.  But  the  knowl- 
edge being  possessed,  it  comes  to  the  same  thing.  Some 
practice  them  with  a natural  ease,  some  from  a desire  for 
their  advantages,  and  some  by  strenuous  effort.  But  the 
achievement  being  made,  it  comes  to  the  same  thing.” 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


157 


DOMESTIC  HAPPINESS. 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  “ Happy  union  with 
wife  and  children,  is  like  the  music  of  lutes  and  harps. 
When  there  is  concord  among  brethren,  the  harmony  is 
delightful  and  enduring.  Thus  may  you  regulate  your 
family,  and  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  your  wife  and  children.” 
The  Master  said,  “ In  such  a state  of  tilings,  parents 
have  entire  complaisance.” 


“ Benevolence  is  the  characteristic  element  of  humanity, 
and  the  great  exercise  of  it  is  in  loving  relatives.  Right- 
eousness is  the  accordance  of  actions  with  what  is  right, 
and  the  great  exercise  of  it  is  in  honoring  the  worthy. 
The  decreasing  measure  of  the  love  due  to  relatives,  and 
the  steps  in  the  honor  due  to  the  worthy,  are  produced 
by  the  principle  of  propriety.” 

To  no  one  but  the  emperor  does  it  belong  to  order 
ceremonies,  to  fix  the  measures,  and  to  determine  the 
characters. 

Now,  over  the  empire,  carriages  have  all  wheels  of  the 
same  size ; all  writing  is  with  the  same  characters  • and 
for  conduct,  there  are  the  same  rules. 

The  Master  said,  “ Let  a man  who  is  ignorant  be  fond 
of  using  his  own  judgment ; let  a man  without  rank  be 
fond  of  assuming  a directing  power  to  himself ; let  a 
man  who  is  living  in  the  present  age  go  back  to  the  ways 
of  antiquity  : on  the  persons  of  all  who  act  thus  calami- 
ties will  be  sure  to  come.” 


MENCIUS. 


15S 


BOOK  IV. 


MENCIUS. 


LIFE  OF  MENCIUS. 

The  last  of  the  “ Four  Books  ” is  nearly  as  large  as 
the  other  three  united,  and  consists  entirely  of  the  writ- 
ings of  Mencius,  Mang  tsz'  or  Mang  futsz',  as  he  is 
called  by  the  Chinese.  Mencius  flourished  about  eighty 
years  after  the  death  of  his  master,  and  although  in  es- 
timating his  character,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he 
had  the  advantages  of  his  example,  still  in  most  respects 
he  displayed  an  originality  of  thought,  inflexibility  of 
purpose,  and  extensive  views,  superior  to  Confucius,  and 
must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  Asiatic  na- 
tions have  ever  produced.  An  account  of  his  life  and 
writings  has  been  drawn  by  P.emusat,  in  his  usual  clear 
manner,  which  will  furnish  all  the  data  requisite. 

Mencius  was  born  about  400  B.c.,  in  the  city  of  Tsau, 
now  in  the  province  of  Shantung.  His  father  died  a 
short  time  after  his  son’s  birth,  and  left  the  guardianship 


LIFE  OF  MENCIUS. 


159 


of  the  boy  to  his  widow  Changsha.  “ The  care  of  this 
prudent  and  attentive  mother,”  to  quote  from  Remusat, 
“ has  been  cited  as  a model  for  all  virtuous  parents.  The 
house  that  she  occupied  was  near  that  of  a butcher. 
She  observed  at  the  first  cry  of  the  animals  that  were 
being  slaughtered,  the  little  Mang  ran  to  be  present  at 
the  sight,  and  that  on  his  return  he  sought  to  imitate 
what  he  had  seen.  Fearful  that  his  heart  might  become 
hardened,  and  be  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  blood,  she 
removed  to  another  house,  which  was  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  a cemetery'.  The  relations  of  those  who  were 
buried  there  came  often  to  weep  upon  their  graves,  and 
make  the  customary'  libations.  Mencius  soon  took  pleas- 
ure in  their  ceremonies,  and  amused  himself  in  imitating 
them.  This  was  a new  subject  of  uneasiness  to  Chang- 
slh  • she  feared  her  son  might  come  to  consider  as  a jest 
what  is  of  all  things  the  most  serious,  and  that  he  would 
acquire  a habit  of  performing  with  levity,  and  as  a mat- 
ter of  routine  merely',  ceremonies  which  demand  the  most 
exact  attention  and  respect.  Again,  therefore,  she  anx- 
iously changed  her  dwelling,  and  went  to  live  in  the  city 
opposite  to  a school,  where  her  son  found  examples  the 
most  worthy'  of  imitation,  and  soon  began  to  profit  by 
them.  I should  not  have  spoken  of  this  trifling  anec- 
dote, but  for  the  allusion  which  the  Chinese  constantly 
make  to  it  in  the  common  proverb,  “‘Formerly  the  moth- 
er of  Mencius  chose  out  a neighborhood.’  ” On  another 
occasion,  her  son  seeing  persons  slaughtering  pigs,  asked 
her  why  they  did  it.  “ To  feed  you,”  she  replied  ; but 
reflecting  that  this  was  teaching  her  son  to  lightly  regard 
the  truth,  went  and  bought  some  pork  and  gave  him. 

Mencius  devoted  himself  early  to  the  classics,  and  be- 


i6o 


MENCIUS. 


came  the  disciple  of  Tsz’-sz’,  the  grandson  and  not 
unworthy  imitator  of  Confucius.  After  his  studies  were 
completed,  he  offered  his  sen-ices  to  the  feudal  princes 
of  the  country,  and  was  received  by  Hwui  wang,  king  of 
Wei : but  though  much  respected  by  this  ruler,  his  instruc- 
tions were  not  regarded.  He  saw  too,  ere  long,  that  among 
the  numerous  petty  rulers  and  intriguing  statesmen  of 
the  day,  there  was  no  prospect  of  restoring  tranquillity 
to  the  empire,  and  that  discourses  upon  the  mild  govern- 
ment and  peaceful  virtues  of  Yau  and  Shun,  king  Wan 
and  Chingtang,  offered  little  to  interest  persons  whose 
minds  were  engrossed  with  schemes  of  conquest  or 
pleasure.  He  therefore,  at  length,  returned  to  his  own 
country  ; and  in  concert  with  his  disciples,  employed  him- 
self in  composing  the  work  which  bears  his  name,  and  in 
completing  the  editorial  labors  of  his  great  predecessor. 
He  died  about  314  b.c.,  aged  eighty-four  years. 

His  own  treatise  on  political  morality  is  divided  into 
two  parts,  which  together  contain  fourteen  short  chapters, 
as  they  stand  arranged  in  the  Four  Books  of  the  Chinese. 
After  his  death,  Mencius  was  honored  by  public  act  with 
the  title  of  Holy  Prince  of  the  country-  of  Tsau,  and  in 
the  temple  of  the  literati  he  receives  the  same  honors  as 
Confucius  ; his  descendants  bear  the  title  of  Masters  of 
the  Traditions  concerning  the  classics,  and  he  himself  is 
called  A-shing,  which  signifies  the  Second  Saint,  Confu- 
cius being  regarded  as  the  first.  His  writings  are  in  the 
form  of  dialogues  held  with  the  great  personages  of  his 
time,  and  abound  with  irony  and  ridicule  directed  against 
vice  and  oppression,  which  only  makes  his  praises  of  vir- 
tue and  integrity  more  weighty.  He  contests  nothing 
with  his  adversaries,  but  while  he  grants  their  premises, 


LIFE  OF  MENCIUS. 


161 


lie  seeks  to  draw  from  them  consequences  the  most  ab- 
surd, which  cover  the  opponents  with  confusion. 

The  will  of  the  people  is,  by  Mencius,  always  referred 
to  as  the  supreme  power  in  the  State,  and  he  warns 
princes  that  they  must  both  please  and  benefit  their  peo- 
ple, observing  that  “ if  the  country  is  not  subdued  in 
heart,  there  will  be  no  such  thing  as  governing  it ;”  and, 
also,  “ He  who  gains  the  hearts  of  the  people,  secures 
the  throne,  and  he  who  loses  the  people’s  hearts,  loses 
the  throne.” 

His  estimate  of  human  nature,  like  many  of  the  Chi- 
nese sages,  is  high,  believing  it  to  be  originally  good, 
and  “ that  all  men  are  naturally  virtuous  as  all  water 
flows  downward.  All  men  have  compassionate  hearts, 
and  feel  ashamed  of  vice.”  But  he  says,  also,  “ Shame 
is  of  great  moment  to  men  ; it  is  only  the  designing  and 
artful  that  find  no  use  for  shame.” 

His  own  character  presents  traits  widely  differing  from 
the  servility  and  baseness  usually  ascribed  to  Asiatics, 
and  especially  to  the  Chinese  ; and  he  seems  to  have 
been  ready  to  sacrifice  everything  to  his  principles.  “ I 
love  life,  and  I love  justice,”  he  observes,  “ but  if  I can- 
not preserve  both,  I would  give  up  life,  and  hold  fast 
justice.  Although  I love  life,  there  is  that  which  I love 
more  than  life  ; although  I hate  death,  there  is  that 
which  I hate  more  than  death.”  And,  as  if  referring  to 
his  own  integrity,  he  elsewhere  says,  “ The  nature  of  the 
superior  man  is  such  that,  although  in  a high  and  pros- 
perous situation,  it  adds  nothing  to  his  virtue  ; and  al- 
though in  low  and  distressed  circumstances,  it  impairs  it 
in  nothing.”  In  many  points,  especially  in  the  import- 
ance he  gives  to  filial  duty,  his  reverence  for  the  ancient 


162 


MENCIUS. 


books  and  princes,  and  his  adherence  to  old  usages, 
Mencius  imitated  and  upheld  Confucius ; in  native  vigor 
and  carelessness  of  the  reproaches  of  his  compatriots, 
he  excelled  him. 

Mencius,  like  Confucius,  made  large  use  of  ancient  il- 
lustrious examples,  hoping  thus  to  awaken  a desire  in  the 
rulers  of  his  own  time  to  imitate  the  virtues  of  former 
ages.  He  often  taught  by  means  of  parables,  and  some- 
times was  drawn  into  disputation,  as  appears  from  the 
following  quotation  : 

“ The  disciple  Kung-too  said  to  Mencius,  ‘ Master,  the 
people  beyond  oicr  school  all  speak  of  you  as  being  fond 
of  disputing.  I venture  to  ask  whether  it  be  so.’  Men- 
cius replied,  ‘ Indeed  I am  not  fond  of  disputing,  but  I 
am  compelled  to  do  it.’  ” 

It  may  be  interesting  to  notice  how  Mencius  was  ap- 
preciated by  Chinese  philosophers,  as  compared  with 
Confucius. 

The  philosopher  Ching  said,  “ I do  not  dare  to  say 
altogether  that  he  was  a sage,  but  his  learning  had 
reached  the  extremest  point.”  And  again,  “ The  merit 
of  Mencius  in  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  the  sages  is  more 
than  can  be  told.  Confucius  only  spoke  of  benevolence, 
but  as  soon  as  Mencius  opens  his  mouth,  we  hear  of 
benevolence  and  righteousness.  Confucius  only  spoke 
of  the  will  or  mind,  but  Mencius  enlarged  also  on  the 
nourishment  of  the  passion  nature.  In  these  two  re- 
spects his  merit  was  great.”  “ Mencius  ” ( says  Ching) 
“ did  great  sendee  to  the  world  by  his  teaching  the  good- 
ness of  man’s  nature.” 

“ Yen  Yuen  was  but  a hair’s-breadth  removed  from  a 


LIFE  OF  MENCIUS.  163 

sage,  while  Mencius  must  be  placed  in  a lower  rank,  a 
great  worthy,  an  inferior  sage.” 

Choo-He  said,  “ Mencius  when  compared  with  Confu- 
cius, always  appears  to  speak  in  too  lofty  a style  ; but 
when  we  hear  him  proclaiming  the  goodness  of  man’s 
nature,  and  celebrating  Yaou  and  Shun,  then  we  likewise 
perceive  the  solidity  of  his  discourses.” 


164 


UKNCIUS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


RULERS  APPOINTED  BY  HEAVEN. 

Mencius  said,  “ He  who  with  a great  State  serves  a 
small  one,  delights  in  Heaven.  He  who  with  a small 
State  serves  a large  one,  stands  in  awe  of  Heaven.  He 
who  delights  in  Heaven,  will  affect  with  his  love  and 
protection  the  whole  empire.  He  who  stands  in  awe  of 
Heaven,  will  affect  with  his  love  and  protection  his  own 
kingdom.” 

“ It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  ‘ I fear  the  majesty 
of  Heaven,  and  will  thus  preserve  its  favoring  decree.’  ” 

“ In  the  Book  of  History  it  is  said,  ‘ Heaven  having 
produced  the  inferior  people,  appointed  for  them  rulers* 


* This  may  be  said  to  be  a cardinal  doctrine  in  Chinese  politics. 
Heaven,  Earth,  Man,  are  the  three  great  powers.  At  first,  there 
were  Heaven  and  Earth,  but,  being  without  speech,  they  needed  a 
vicegerent ; therefore  they  created  man  : this  Man  is  the  Emperor, 
who  by  Heaven  and  Earth  is  ordained  to  reign  over  all  people 
under  Heaven  ; hence,  we  find  that  in  China  divine  honors  are 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


165 

and  teachers,  with  the  purpose  that  they  should  be  assist- 
ing to  God,  and  therefore  distinguished  them  throughout 
the  four  quarters  of  the  empire.  How  dare  any  under 
heaven  give  indulgence  to  their  refractory  wills  ? ’ It  is 
said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry, 

“ ‘ Under  the  whole  heaven, 

Every  spot  is  the  sovereign’s  ground ; 

To  the  borders  of  the  land, 

Every  individual  is  the  sovereign’s  minister  !”’ 

Wan  Chang  said,  “Was  it  the  case  that  Yaougave  the 
empire  to  Shun  ? ” Mencius  said,  “ No.  The  emperor 
cannot  give  the  empire  to  another.” 

“Yes;  but  Shun  had  the  empire.  Who  gave  it  to 
him?”  “ Heaven  gave  it  to  him,”  was  the  answer. 

“ ‘ Heaven  gave  it  to  him  ! ’ did  Heaven  confer  its  ap- 
pointment on  him  with  specific  injunctions  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ No.  Heaven  does  not  speak.  It 
simply  showed  its  will  by  his  personal  conduct,  and  his 
conduct  of  affairs.” 

“ ‘ It  showed  its  will  by  his  personal  conduct,  and  his 
conduct  of  affairs  how  was  this  ? ” Mencius’  answer 
was,  “ The  empire  can  present  a man  to  heaven,  but  he 
cannot  make  heaven  give  that  man  the  empire.  A prince 
can  present  a man  to  the  emperor,  but  he  cannot  cause 
the  emperor  to  make  that  man  a prince.  A great  officer 
can  present  a man  to  his  prince,  but  he  cannot  cause  the 


paid  to  Heaven,  Earth,  and  the  Emperor  ; hence,  also,  we  perceive 
a cause  for  the  long  continuance  of  the  Chinese  government,  be- 
cause rebellion  against  the  emperor  would  have  been  rebellion 
against  Heaven  : hence,  likewise,  we  perceive  how  the  emperors  of 
China  were  led  to  assume  superiority  over  the  rulers  of  other  coun- 
tries. 


i66 


MENCIUS. 


prince  to  make  that  man  a great  officer.  Yaou  presented 
Shun  to  heaven,  and  the  people  accepted  him.  There- 
fore I say,  ‘ Heaven  does  not  speak.  It  simply  indicated 
its  will  by  his  personal  conduct  and  his  conduct  of  af- 
fairs.’ ” 

Chang  said,  “ I presume  to  ask  how  it  was  that  Yaou 
presented  Shun  to  heaven,  and  heaven  accepted  him  ; 
and  that  he  exhibited  him  to  the  people,  and  the  people 
accepted  him.”  Mencius  replied,  “ He  caused  him  to 
preside  over  the  sacrifices,  and  all  the  spirits  were  well 
pleased  with  him : thus  heaven  accepted  him.  He  caused 
him  to  preside  over  the  conduct  of  affairs,  and  affairs 
were  well  administered,  so  that  the  people  reposed  under 
him  : thus  the  people  accepted  him.  Heaven  gave  the 
empire  to  him.  The  people  gave  it  to  him.  Therefore  I 
said,  * The  emperor  cannot  give  the  empire  to  another.’ 

“ Shun  assisted  Yaou  in  the  government  for  twenty-and- 
eight  years  : this  was  more  than  man  could  have  done, 
and  was  from  heaven.” 

The  words  of  The  Great  Declaration  are  : “ Heaven 
sees  according  as  my  people  see  ; Heaven  hears  accord- 
ing as  my  people  hear.” 

INSTRUCTION  FOR  PRINCES  AND  PUBLIC  OFFICERS. 

Mencius  said,  “ How  is  it  posssible  to  speak  with  those 
princes  who  are  not  benevolent  ? Their  perils  they  count 
safety,  their  calamities  they  count  profitable,  and  they 
have  pleasure  in  the  things  by  which  they  perish. 

“ Next  to  those  who  unite  the  princes  in  leagues,  are 
those  who  are  skillful  to  fight ; and  next  to  them,  those 


ON  GOVERNMENT.  1 67 

who  take  in  grassy  commons,  imposing  the  cultivation  of 
the  ground  on  the  people. 

“ The  respectful  do  not  despise  others.  The  econom- 
ical do  not  plunder  others.  The  prince  who  treats  men 
with  despite,  and  plunders  them,  is  only  afraid  that  they 
may  not  prove  obedient  to  him : how  can  he  be  regarded 
as  respectful  or  economical  ? How  can  respectfulness  and 
economy  be  made  out  of  tones  of  the  voice,  and  a smil- 
ing manner  ? ” 

When  Tsze-ch’an  was  chief  minister  of  the  State  of 
Ch’ing,  he  would  convey  people  across  the  Tsin  and  Wei 
in  his  own  carriage. 

Mencius  said,  “ It  was  kind,  but  showed  that  he  did 
not  understand  the  practice  of  government. 

“ Let  a governor  conduct  his  rule  on  principles  of 
equal  justice.  But  how  can  he  convey  everybody  across 
the  rivers  ? ” 

“ It  follows  that  if  a governor  will  try  to  please  every- 
body, he  will  find  the  days  not  sufficient  for  his  work.* 

“ Let  the  people  be  employed  in  the  way  which  is  in- 
tended to  secure  their  ease,  and  though  they  be  toiled, 
they  will  not  murmur.  Let  them  be  put  to  death  in  the 
way  which  is  intended  to  preserve  their  lives,  and  though 
they  die,  they  will  not  murmur  at  him  who  puts  them  to 
death. 

“ Under  a chief,  leading  all  the  princes,  the  people 
look  brisk  and  cheerful.  Under  a true  sovereign,  they 
have  an  air  of  deep  contentment. 


* Good  government  lies  in  equal  measures  for  the  general  good, 
not  in  acts  of  favor  to  individuals.  It  is  not  the  business  of  the 
public  officer  to  serve  the  private  interests  of  individuals  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  general  good  of  the  State. 


i68 


MENCIUS. 


“ Kindly  words  do  not  enter  so  deeply  into  men  as  a 
reputation  for  kindness. 

“ Good  government  does  not  lay  hold  of  the  people  so 
much  as  good  instructions. 

“ Good  government  is  feared  by  the  people,  while  good 
instructions  are  loved  by  them.  Good  government  gets 
the  people’s  wealth,  while  good  instructions  get  their 
hearts. 

“ He  who  as  a sovereign  would  perfectly  discharge  the 
duties  of  a sovereign,  and  he  who  as  a minister  would 
perfectly  discharge  the  duties  of  a minister,  have  only  to 
imitate  the  one  Yaou,  and  the  other  Shun.  He  who 
does  not  serve  his  sovereign  as  Shun  served  Yaou,  does 
not  respect  his  sovereign,  and  he  who  does  not  rule  his 
people  as  Yaou  ruled  his,  injures  his  people.” 

Of  the  five  chiefs  the  most  powerful  was  the  duke 
Hwan.  At  the  assembly  of  the  princes  in  K’wei-K’ew, 
he  bound  the  victim  and  placed  the  writing  upon  it,  but 
did  not  slay  it  to  smear  their  mouths  with  the  blood. 
The  first  injunction  in  their  agreement  was,  “ Slay  the 
unfilial  •,  change  not  the  son  who  has  been  appointed 
heir ; exalt  not  a concubine  to  the  rank  of  wife.”  The 
second  was,  “ Honor  the  worthy,  and  maintain  the  tal- 
ented, to  give  distinction  to  the  virtuous.”  The  third 
was,  “ Respect  the  old,  and  be  kind  to  the  young.  Be 
not  forgetful  of  strangers  and  travelers.”  The  fourth 
was,  “ Let  not  offices  be  hereditary,  nor  let  officers  be 
pluralists.  In  the  selection  of  officers  let  the  object  be 
to  get  the  proper  men.  Let  not  a ruler  take  it  upon 
himself  to  put  to  death  a great  officer.”  The  fifth  was, 
“ Follow  no  crooked  policy  in  making  embankments. 
Impose  no  restrictions  on  the  sale  of  grain.  Let  there 


ON  GOVERNMENT.  1 69 

be  no  promotions  without  first  announcing  them  to  the 
emperor." 

Mencius  having  gone  to  P’ing-luh,  addressed  the  gov- 
ernor of  it,  saying,  “ If  one  of  your  spearmen  should  lose 
his  place  in  the  ranks  three  times  in  one  day,  would  you, 
sir,  put  him  to  death  or  not  ? ” “I  would  not  wait  for 
three  times  to  do  so,"  was  the  reply. 

Mencius  said,  “ Well  then,  you,  sir,  have  likewise  lost 
your  place  in  the  ranks  many  times.  In  bad,  calamitous 
years,  and  years  of  famine,  the  old  and  feeble  of  your 
people,  who  have  been  found  lying  in  the  ditches  and 
water  channels,  and  the  able-bodied,  who  have  been 
scattered  about  to  the  four  quarters,  have  amounted  to 
several  thousands.”  The  governor  replied,  “ That  is  a 
state  of  things  in  which  it  does  not  belong  to  me,  Keu- 
sin,  to  act.” 

“ Here,”  said  Mencius,  “ is  a man  who  receives  charge 
of  the  cattle  and  sheep  of  another,  and  undertakes  to 
feed  them  for  him — of  course  he  must  search  for  pasture- 
ground  and  grass  for  them.  If,  after  searching  for  those, 
he  cannot  find  them,  will  he  return  his  charge  to  the 
owner  ? or  will  he  stand  by  and  see  them  die  ? ” “ Here- 
in,” said  the  officer,  “ I am  guilty.” 

IN  THE  CHOICE  OF  MINISTERS  BE  NOT  GUIDED  ENTIRELY 
BY  REPORTS  OF  OTHERS. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  all  those  about  you  say,  ‘ This 
is  a man  of  talents  and  worth,’  you  may  not  for  that  be- 
lieve it.  When  your  great  officers  all  say,  ‘ This  is  a man 
of  talents  and  virtue,’  neither  may  you  for  that  believe  it. 
When  all  the  people  say,  ‘ This  is  a man  of  talents  and 
8 


i;o 


MENCIUS. 


virtue,’  then  examine  into  the  case,  and  when  you  find 
that  the  man  is  such,  employ  him.  When  all  those  about 
you  say,  ‘ This  man  won’t  do,’  don’t  listen  to  them. 
When  all  your  great  officers  say,  ‘ This  man  won’t  do,’ 
don’t  listen  to  them.  When  the  people  all  say,  ‘ This 
man  won’t  do,’  then  examine  into  the  case,  and  when 
you  find  that  the  man  won’t  do,  send  him  away. 

“ When  all  those  about  you  say,  ‘ This  man  deserves 
death,’  don’t  listen  to  them.  When  all  your  great  offi- 
cers say,  ‘ This  man  deserveth  death,’  don’t  listen  to 
them.  When  the  people  all  say,  ‘ This  man  deserves 
death,’  then  inquire  into  the  case,  and  when  you  see 
that  the  man  deserves  death,  put  him  to  death.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  we  have  the  saying,  ‘ The  people 
killed  him.’ 

“ You  must  act  in  this  way  in  order  to  be  the  parent  of 
the  people. 

“ If  men  of  virtue  and  ability  be  not  confided  in,  a 
State  will  become  empty  and  void.” 


GOVERNMENT  SHOULD  BE  ADMINISTERED  ON  PRINCIPLES 
OF  BENEVOLENCE  AND  RIGHTEOUSNESS.  TO  GOVERN 
THUS,  RULERS  MUST  THEMSELVES  BE  WISE  AND  GOOD. 

Mencius  went  to  see  King  Hwuy  of  Leang. 

The  king  said,  “ Venerable  sir,  since  you  have  not 
counted  it  far  to  come  here,  a distance  of  a thousand  le* 
may  I presume  that  you  are  likewise  provided  with  coun- 
sels to  profit  my  kingdom  ? ” 


* Le — there  are  three  and  one-third  Chinese  le  to  an  English 
mile. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


171 

Mencius  replied,  “ Why  must  your  Majesty  use  that 
word  ‘profit?’  What  I am  ‘likewise’  provided  with, 
are  counsels  to  benevolence  and  righteousness,  and  these 
are  my  only  topics. 

“ If  your  Majesty  say,  ‘ What  is  to  be  done  to  profit 
my  kingdom?’  the  great  officers  will  say,  ‘What  is  to  be 
done  to  profit  our  families  ? ’ and  the  inferior  officers  and 
the  common  people  will  say,  ‘What  is  to  be  done  to  profit 
our  persons  ? ’ Superiors  and  inferiors  will  try  to  snatch 
this  profit  the  one  from  the  other,  and  the  kingdom  will 
be  endangered. 

“ There  never  has  been  a man  trained  to  benevolence 
who  neglected  his  parents.  There  never  has  been  a man 
trained  to  righteousness  who  made  his  sovereign  an  after 
consideration. 

“ Let  your  Majesty  also  say,  ‘ Benevolence  and  righte- 
ousness, and  these  shall  be  the  only  themes.’  Why  must 
you  use  that  word — ‘ profit.’  ” 

Mencius,  another  day,  saw  King  Hwuy  of  Leang.  The 
king  went  and  stood  with  him  by  a pond,  and,  looking 
round  at  the  large  geese  and  deer,  said,  “ Do  wise  and 
good  princes  also  find  pleasure  in  these  things  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ Being  wise  and  good,  they  have 
pleasure  in  these  things.  If  they  are  not  wise  and  good, 
though  they  have  these  things,  they  do  not  find  pleas- 
ure.” * 

“ It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  ‘ He  measured  out 
and  commenced  his  spirit-tower  ; 

He  measured  it  out  and  planned  it  j 


* The  king  is  happy  when  he  rules  over  happy  subjects,  and  peo- 
ple who  love  their  king  serve  him  gladly. 


172 


MENCIUS. 


The  people  addressed  themselves  to  it ; 

And  in  less  than  a day  completed  it. 

When  he  measured  and  began  it,  he  said  to  them — Be 
not  so  earnest : 

But  the  multitude  came,  as  if  they  had  been  his  chil- 
dren. 

The  king  was  in  his  spirit-park ; 

The  does  reposed  about, 

The  does  so  sleek  and  fat : 

And  the  white  birds  shone  glistening. 

The  king  was  by  his  spirit-pond  ; 

How  full  was  it  of  fishes  leaping  about ! ’ * 

“ King  Wan  used  the  strength  of  the  people  to  make  his 
tower  and  his  pond,  and  yet  the  people  rejoiced  to  do  the 
work,  calling  the  tower  ‘the  spirit  tower,’  calling  the  pond 
‘ the  spirit  pond,’  and  rejoicing  that  he  had  his  large  deer 
his  fishes,  and  turtles.  The  ancients  caused  the  people 
to  have  pleasure  as  well  as  themselves,  and  therefore  they 
could  enjoy  it.” 

Conversing  with  King  Seuen  of  Ts’e,  Mencius  said, 
“ By  weighing,  we  know  what  things  are  light,  and  what 
heavy.  By  measuring,  we  know  what  things  are  long, 
and  what  short.  The  relations  of  all  things  may  be  thus 
determined,  and  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  esti- 
mate the  motions  of  the  mind.  I beg  your  Majesty  to 
measure  it. 

“ You  collect  your  equipments  of  war,  endanger  your 
soldiers  and  officers,  and  excite  the  resentment  of  the 


* The  Chinese  of  all  classes  are  remarkable  for  their  love  of  pic- 
turesque scenery,  for  flowers,  birds,  fishes,  etc.,  and  for  their  skill 
in  miniature  gardening 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


173 


other  princes  ; do  these  things  cause  you  pleasure  in  your 
mind  ? 

“ If  your  Majesty  will  institute  a government  whose 
actions  shall  all  be  benevolent,  this  will  cause  all  the  offi- 
cers in  the  empire  to  wish  to  stand  in  your  Majesty’s 
court,  and  the  farmers  all  to  wish  to  plough  in  your  Ma- 
jesty’s fields,  and  the  merchants,  both  travelling  and  sta- 
tionary, all  to  wish  to  store  their  goods  in  your  Majesty’s 
market  places,  and  traveling  strangers  all  to  wish  to  make 
their  tours  on  your  Majesty’s  roads,  and  all  throughout 
the  empire  who  feel  aggrieved  by  their  rulers  to  wish  to 
come  and  complain  to  your  Majesty.  And  when  they 
are  so  bent,  who  will  be  able  to  keep  them  back  ? ” 

The  king  said,  “ I am  stupid,  and  not  able  to  advance 
to  this.  I wish  you,  my  Master,  to  assist  my  intentions. 
Teach  me  clearly  ; although  I am  deficient  in  intelligence 
and  vigor,  I will  essay  and  try  to  carry  your  instruc- 
tions into  effect. 

“ From  the  want  of  benevolence  and  the  want  of  wis- 
dom will  ensue  the  entire  absence  of  propriety  and  right- 
eousness : he  who  is  in  such  a case  must  be  the  servant 
of  other  men. 

“ The  man  who  would  be  benevolent  is  like  the  archer. 
The  archer  adjusts  himself,  and  then  shoots.  If  he  miss- 
es, he  does  not  murmur  against  those  who  surpass  him- 
self. He  simply  turns  round  and  seeks  the  cause  of  his 
failure  in  himself.” 

Mencius  said,  “ With  those  who  do  violence  to  them- 
selves, it  is  impossible  to  speak.  With  those  who  throw 
themselves  away,  it  is  impossible  to  do  anything.  To 
disown  in  his  conversation  propriety  and  righteousness, 
is  what  me  mean  by  doing  violence  to  one’s  self.  To  say 


*74 


MENCIUS'. 


— ‘/am  not  able  to  dwell  in  benevolence  or  pursue  the 
path  of  righteousness,’  is  what  we  mean  by  throwing 
one’s  self  away. 

“ Benevolence  is  the  tranquil  habitation  of  man,  and 
righteousness  is  his  straight  path. 

“ Alas  for  them,  who  leave  the  tranquil  dwelling  empty, 
and  do  not  reside  in  it,  and  who  abandon  the  right  path, 
and  do  not  pursue  it ! 

“ The  path  of  duty  lies  in  what  is  near,  and  men  seek 
for  it  in  what  is  remote.  The  work  of  duty  lies  in  what 
is  easy,  and  men  seek  for  it  in  what  is  difficult.  If  each 
man  would  love  his  parents,  and  show  the  due  respect  to 
his  elders,  the  whole  empire  would  enjoy  tranquility.” 

The  king’s  son  Teen  asked  Mencius , saying,  “ What  is 
the  business  of  the  imemployed  scholar  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ To  exalt  his  aim.” 

Teen  asked  again,  ‘‘  What  do  you  mean  by  exalting  the 
aim  ? ” The  answer  was,  “ Setting  it  simply  on  benevo- 
lence and  righteousness.  lie  thinks  how  to  put  a single 
innocent  person  to  death  is  contrary  to  benevolence  ; 
how  to  take  what  one  has  not  a right  to  is  contrary  to 
righteousness  ; that  one’s  dwelling  should  be  benevo- 
lence : and  one’s  path  should  be  righteousness.  When 
benevolence  is  the  dwelling-place  of  the  heart,  and  right- 
eousness the  path  of  the  life,  the  business  of  a great  man 
is  complete. 

“ Supposing  that  the  kingdom  of  Ts’e  were  offered, 
contrary  to  righteousness,  to  Ch’in  Chung,  he  would  not 
receive  it,  and  all  people  believe  in  him,  as  a man  of  the 
highest  worth.  But  this  is  only  the  righteousness  which 
declines  a dish  of  rice  or  a platter  of  soup.  A man  can 
have  no  greater  crimes  than  to  disown  his  parents  and  re- 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


T7S 


latives,  and  the  relations  of  sovereign  and  minister,  supe- 
riors and  inferiors.  How  can  it  be  allowed  to  give  a man 
credit  for  the  great  excellencies  because  he  possesses  a 
small  one  ? ” 

BENEVOLENT  GOVERNMENT  SECURES  THE  AFFECTIONS  OF 
THE  SUBJECTS. 

Mencius  said,  “ He  who  outrages  the  benevolence  proper 
to  his  nature  is  called  a robber  ; he  who  outrages  right- 
eousness is  called  a ruffian.  The  robber  and  ruffian  we 
call  a mere  fellow.  I have  heard  of  the  cutting  off  of 
the  fellow  Chow,  but  I have  not  heard  of  the  putting  a 
sovereign  to  death,  in  his  case.” 

Mencius  said,  “ In  calamitous  years  and  years  of  fam- 
ine, the  old  and  weak  of  your  people,  who  have  been 
found  lying  in  the  ditches  and  water-channels,  and  the 
able-bodied  who  have  been  scattered  about  to  the  four 
quarters,  have  amounted  to  several  thousands.  All  the 
while,  your  granaries,  O prince,  have  been  stored  with 
grain,  and  your  treasuries  and  arsenals  have  been  full, 
and  not  one  of  your  officers  has  told  you  of  the  distress. 
Thus  negligent  have  the  superiors  in  your  State  been, 
and  cruel  to  their  inferiors.  The  philosopher  Tsang 
said,  ‘ Beware,  beware  ! What  proceeds  from  you  will 
return  to  you  again.’  Now,  at  length,  the  people  have 
returned  their  conduct  to  the  officers.  Do  not  you,  O 
prince,  blame  them. 

“ If  you  will  put  in  practice  a benevolent  government, 
this  people  will  love  you  and  all  above  them,  and  will 
die  for  their  officers.” 

Mencius  said,  “ Kiie  and  Chow’s  losing  the  empire 


176 


MENCIUS. 


arose  from  their  losing  the  people,  and  to  lose  the  peo* 
pie  means  to  lose  their  hearts.  There  is  a way  to  get 
the  empire  : get  the  people  and  the  empire  is  got.  There 
is  a way  to  get  the  people  : get  their  hearts,  and  the 
people  are  got.  There  is  a way  to  get  their  hearts : it 
is  simply  to  collect  for  them  what  they  like,  and  not  to 
lay  on  them  what  they  dislike. 

“ The  people  turn  to  a benevolent  rule  as  water  flows 
downwards.” 

THE  SUPPORT  AND  COMFORT  OF  THE  AGED  A RELIGIOUS 
DUTY. 

Mencius  said,  “ Pih-e,  that  he  might  avoid  Chow,  was 
dwelling  on  the  coast  of  the  northern  sea,  when  he  heard 
of  the  rise  ot  King  Wan.  He  roused  himself,  and  said, 
‘ Why  should  I not  go  and  follow  him  ? I have  heard 
that  the  Chief  of  the  West  knows  well  how  to  nourish 
the  old.’ 

“ Around  the  homestead  with  its  five  mow,  the  space 
beneath  the  walls  was  planted  with  mulberry  trees,  with 
which  the  women  nourished  silkworms,  and  thus  the  old 
were  able  to  have  silk  to  wear.  Each  family  had  five 
brood  hens  and  two  brood  sows,  which  were  kept  to 
their  breeding  seasons,  and  thus  the  old  were  able  to  have 
flesh  to  eat.  The  husbandmen  cultivated  their  farms  of 
one  hundred  mow,  and  thus  their  families  of  eight 
mouths  were  secured  against  want. 

“ The  expression,  ‘ The  Chief  of  the  West  knows  well 
how  to  nourish  the  old,’  refers  to  his  regulation  of  the 
fields  and  dwellings,  his  teaching  them  to  plant  the 
mulberry  and  nourish  those  animals,  and  his  instructing 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


177 


the  wives  and  children,  so  as  to  make  them  nourish 
their  aged.  At  fifty,  w'armth  cannot  be  maintained  with- 
out silks,  and  at  seventy,  flesh  is  necessary  to  satisfy  the 
appetite.  Persons  not  kept  warm,  nor  supplied  with 
food,  are  said  to  be  starved  and  famished ; but  among 
the  people  of  King  Wan,  there  were  no  aged  who  were 
starved  or  famished.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  ex- 
pression in  question.” 


EFFECTS  OF  OPPRESSION. 

Confucius  said,  “ There  are  but  two  courses  which  can 
he  pursued — that  of  virtue,  and  its  opposite.” 

“ A sovereign  who  carries  the  oppression  of  his  peo- 
ple to  the  highest  pitch,  will  himself  be  slain,  and  his 
kingdom  will  perish.  If  one  stops  short  of  the  highest 
pitch,  his  life  will,  notwithstanding  be  in  danger,  and  his 
kingdom  will  be  weakened.  He  will  be  styled  ‘ The 
dark,’  or  ‘ The  cruel,’  and  though  he  may  have  filial  sons 
and  affectionate  grandsons,  they  will  not  be  able  in  a 
hundred  generations  to  change  the  designation.” 

Mencius  said,  “ It  was  by  benevolence  that  the  three 
dynasties  gained  the  empire,  and  by  not  being  benevo- 
lent, that  they  lost  it. 

“ If  the  emperor  be  not  benevolent,  he  cannot  preserve 
the  empire  from  passing  from  him.  If  the  sovereign  of 
a State  be  not  benevolent,  he  cannot  preserve  his  king- 
dom. If  a high,  noble,  or  great  officer  be  not  benevo- 
lent, he  cannot  preserve  his  ancestral  temple.  If  a 
scholar  or  common  man  be  not  benevolent,  he  cannot 
preserve  his  four  limbs. 


173 


MENCIUS. 


“ Now,  they  hate  death  and  ruin,  and  yet  delight  in 
being  not  benevolent ; this  is  like  hating  to  be  drunk, 
and  yet  being  strong  to  drink  wine.” 

BE  PREPARED  TO  RESIST  INVASION. 

The  duke  Wan  of  T’ang  asked  Mencius , saying,  “T’ang 
is  a small  kingdom,  and  lies  between  'J's’e  and  Ts’oo. 
Shall  I serve  Ts’e,  or  shall  I serve  Ts’oo  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ This  plan  which  you  propose  is  be- 
yond me.  If  you  will  have  me  counsel  you,  there  is  one 
thing  I can  suggest.  Dig  deeper  your  moats  ; build  high- 
er your  walls  ; guard  them  along  with  your  people.  In 
case  of  attack , be  prepared  to  die  in  your  defense , and  have 
the  people  so  they  will  not  leave  you ; this  is  a proper 
course.” 

RULERS  GOVERN  BY  THEIR  EXAMPLE:  THEY  MUST  RULE 
THEIR  OWN  SPIRITS  ; AND  RULE  WELL  THEIR  OWN 
HOUSEHOLDS. 

Mencius  said,  “ Treat  with  the  reverence  due  to  age 
the  elders  in  your  own  family,  so  that  the  elders  in  the 
families  of  others  shall  be  similarly  treated  ; treat  with 
the  kindness  due  to  youth  the  young  in  your  own  family, 
so  that  the  young  in  the  families  of  others  shall  be  simi- 
larly treated  : do  this,  and  the  empire  may  be  made  to 
go  round  in  your  palm.  It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poe- 
try, 4 His  example  affected  his  wife.  It  reached  to  his 
brothers,  and  his  family  of  the  State  was  governed  by  it.’ 
The  language  shows  how  king  Wan  simply  took  this 
kindly  heart,  and  exercised  it  towards  those  parties. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


179 


Therefore  the  carrying  out  his  kindly  heart  by  a prince 
will  suffice  for  the  love  and  protection  of  all  within  the 
four  seas,  and  if  he  do  not  carry  it  out,  he  will  not  be 
able  to  protect  his  wife  and  children.  The  way  in  which 
the  ancients  came  greatly  to  surpass  other  men,  was  no 
other  than  this  : simply  that  they  knew  well  how  to  carry 
out,  so  as  to  affect  others,  what  they  themselves  did. 
Now  your  kindness  is  sufficient  to  reach  to  animals,  and 
no  benefits  are  extended  from  it  to  reach  the  people. 
How  is  this?  Is  an  exception  to  be  made  here  ? 

“ If  the  sovereign  be  benevolent,  all  will  be  benevo- 
lent. If  the  sovereign  be  righteous,  all  will  be  righteous.” 

THE  FAMILY  THE  ROOT  OF  THE  STATE.  HE  WHO  GOVERNS 

HIMSELF  MAY  GOVERN  HIS  FAMILY  ; HE  WHO  GOVERNS 

HIS  FAMILY  MAY  GOVERN  THE  STATE. 

Mencius  said,  “ People  have  this  common  saying, 

‘ The  empire,  the  State,  the  family.’  The  root  of  the  em- 
pire is  in  the  State.  The  root  of  the  State  is  in  the 
family.  The  root  of  the  family  is  in  the  person  of  its 
head. 

“ Of  services  which  is  the  greatest  ? The  service  of 
parents  is  the  greatest.  Of  charges  which  is  the  great- 
est ? The  charge  of  one’s  self  is  the  greatest.  That  those 
who  do  not  fail  to  keep  themselves  are  able  to  serve  their 
parents,  is  what  I have  heard.  But  I have  never  heard 
of  any,  who  having  failed  to  keep  themselves,  were  able 
notwithstanding  to  serve  their  parents. 

“ There  are  many  services,  but  the  service  of  parents 
is  the  root  of  all  others.  There  are  many  charges,  but 
the  charge  of  one’s  self  is  the  root  of  all  others. 


i8o 


MENCIUS. 


“ Let  the  prince  be  benevolent,  and  all  his  acts  will  be 
benevolent. 

“ Let  the  prince  be  righteous,  and  all  his  acts  will  be 
righteous.  Let  the  prince  be  correct,  and  everything 
will  be  correct.  Once  rectify  the  prince,  and  the  king- 
dom will  be  firmly  settled. 

“ There  are  those  who  are  great  men.  They  rectify 
themselves,  and  others  are  rectified. 

“ If  a man  himself  do  not  walk  in  the  right  path,  it 
will  not  be  walked  in  even  by  his  wife  and  children.  If 
he  do  not  order  men  according  to  the  right  way,  he  will 
not  be  able  to  get  the  obedience  of  even  his  wife  and 
children.” 


POLITICAL  ECONOMY. 

King  Hwuy,  of  Leang,  said,  “ Small  as  my  virtue  is, 
in  the  government  of  my  kingdom,  I do  indeed  exert  my 
mind  to  the  utmost.  If  the  year  be  bad  on  the  inside  of 
the  river,  I remove  as  many  of  the  people  as  I can  to  the 
east  of  the  river,  and  convey  grain  to  the  country  in  the 
inside.*  When  the  year  is  bad  on  the  east  of  the  river, 
I act  on  the  same  plan.  On  examining  the  government 
of  the  neighboring  kingdoms,  I do  not  find  that  there  is 
any  prince  who  employs  his  mind  as  I do.  And  yet  the 
people  of  the  neighboring  kingdoms  do  not  decrease,  nor 
do  my  people  increase.  How  is  this  ? ” 


* Leang  was  on  the  south  of  the  Ho,  or  Yellow  river,  but  por- 
tions of  the  Wei  territory  lay  on  the  other  side  or  north  of  the 
river.  This  was  called  the  inside  of  the  river,  because  the  ancient 
imperial  capitals  had  mostly  been  there,  in  the  province  of  lv’e, 
comprehending  the  present  Shan-si. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


iSt 

Mencius  replied,  “ Your  Majesty  is  fond  of  war,  * * 

* *.  If  the  seasons  of  husbandry  be  not  interfered 
with,  the  grain  will  be  more  than  can  be  eaten.*  If  close 
nets  are  not  allowed  to  enter  the  pools  and  ponds,  the 
fishes  and  turtles  will  be  more  than  can  be  consumed. 
If  the  axes  and  bills  enter  the  hills  and  forests  only  at 
the  proper  time,  the  wood  will  be  more  than  can  be  used. 
When  the  grain  and  fish  and  turtles  are  more  than  can 
be  eaten,  and  there  is  more  wood  than  can  be  used,  this 
enables  the  people  to  nourish  their  living  and  bury  their 
dead,  without  any  feeling  against  any.  This  condition, 
in  which  the  people  nourish  their  living  and  bury  their 
dead  without  any  feeling  against  any,  is  the  first  step  of 
royal  government. 

“ Let  mulberry  trees  be  planted  about  the  homesteads 
with  their  five  mow , and  persons  of  fifty  years  may  be 
clothed  with  silk.  In  keeping  fowls,  pigs,  dogs,  and 
swine,  let  not  their  times  of  breeding  be  neglected,  and 
persons  of  seventy  years  may  eat  flesh.  Let  there  not 
be  taken  away  the  time  that  is  proper  for  the  cultivation 
of  the  farm  with  its  hundred  mow , and  the  family  of  sev- 
eral mouths  that  is  supported  by  it  shall  not  suffer  from 
hunger.  Let  careful  attention  be  paid  to  education  in 
schools,  including  in  it  especially  the  filial  and  fraternal 
duties,  and  gray-haired  men  will  not  be  seen  upon  the 
roads,  carrying  burdens  on  their  backs  or  on  their  heads. 
It  never  has  been  that  the  ruler  of  a State,  where  such 
results  were  seen — persons  of  seventy  wearing  silk  and 


* In  spring,  there  was  the  sowing ; in  summer,  the  weeding  ; and 
in  autumn,  the  harvesting  : those  were  the  seasons  and  works  of 
husbandry,  from  which  the  people  might  not  be  called  off. 


182 


MENCIUS. 


eating  flesh,  and  the  black-haired  people  suffering  nei- 
ther from  hunger  nor  cold,  did  not  attain  to  the  imperial 
dignity.* 

“ Your  dogs  and  swine  eat  the  food  of  men,  and  you 
do  not  know  to  make  any  restrictive  arrangements. 
There  are  people  dying  from  famine  on  the  roads,  and 
you  do  not  know  to  issue  the  stores  of  your  granaries 
for  them.  When  people  die  you  say,  “It  is  not  owing 
to  me  ; it  is  owing  to  the  year ! In  what  docs  this  differ 
from  stabbing  a man  and  killing  him,  and  then  saying, 
‘ It  was  not  I ; it  was  the  weapon  ? ’ Let  your  majesty 
cease  to  lay  the  blame  on  the  year,  and  instantly  from 
all  the  empire  the  people  will  come  to  you.” 

King  Hwuy,  of  Leang,  said,  “ I wish  quietly  to  receive 
your  instructions.” 

Mencius  replied,  “ Is  there  any  difference  between 
killing  a man  with  a stick  and  with  a sword  ? ” The  king 
said,  “ There  is  no  difference.” 

“ Is  there  any  difference  between  doing  it  with  a sword 
and  with  the  style  of  government  ? ” “ There  is  no  differ- 
ence,” was  the  reply. 

Mencius  then  said,  “ In  your  kitchen  there  is  fat  meat ; 
in  your  stable  there  are  fat  horses.  But  your  people 
have  the  look  of  hunger,  and  on  the  wilds  there  are  those 
who  have  died  of  famine.  This  is  leading  on  beasts  to 
devour  men. 

“ Beasts  devour  one  another,  and  men  hate  them  for 
doing  so.  When  a prince , being  the  parent  of  his  people, 


* Black  hair  is  universal  in  China  until  age  has  turned  it  white; 
therefore  blacl  -haired  people  generally  designates  the  youth  and 
middle-aged,  and  gray-haired  the  aged. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


*83 

administers  his  government  so  as  to  be  chargeable  with 
leading  on  beasts  to  devour  men,  where  is  that  parental 
relation  to  the  people  ? ” 

Chung-ne  said,  “ Was  he  not  without  posterity  who 
first  made  wooden  images  to  bury  with  the  dead  ? So  he 
said,  because  that  men  made  the  semblance  of  men,  and 
used  them  for  that  purpose  : what  shall  be  thought  of 
him  who  causes  his  people  to  die  of  hunger  ? ”* 

King  Hwuy,  of  Leang,  said,  “ There  was  not  in  the 
empire  a stronger  State  than  Ts’in,  as  you,  venerable  sir, 
know.  But  since  it  descended  to  me,  on  the  east,  we 
have  been  defeated  by  Ts’e,  and  then  my  eldest  son  per- 
ished ; on  the  west,  we  have  lost  seven  hundred  le  of 
territory  to  Ts’in  ; and  on  the  south,  we  have  sustained 
disgrace  at  the  hands  of  Ts’oo.  I have  brought  shame 
on  my  departed  predecessors,  and  wish  on  their  account 
to  wipe  it  away,  once  for  all.  What  course  is  to  be  pur- 
sued to  accomplish  this  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ With  a territory  which  is  only  a hun- 
dred le  square,  it  is  possible  to  attain  the  imperial  dig- 
nity. 

“ If  your  Majesty  will  indeed  dispense  a benevolent 
government  to  the  people,  being  sparing  in  the  use  of 
punishments  and  fines,  and  making  the  taxes  and  levies 


* In  ancient  times,  bundles  of  straw  were  made  to  represent  men 
imperfectly,  and  carried  to  the  grave,  and  buried  with  the  dead,  as 
attendants  upon  them.  In  middle  antiquity,  i.  e.,  after  the  rise  of 
the  Chow  dynasty,  for  those  bundles  of  straw,  wooden  figures  of 
men  were  used,  having  springs  in  them,  by  which  they  could  move. 
By  and  by,  came  the  practice  of  burying  living  persons  with  the 
dead,  which  Confucius  thought  was  an  effect  of  this  invention,  and 
therefore  he  branded  the  inventor  as  in  the  text. 


1S4 


MENCIUS. 


light,  so  causing  that  the  fields  shall  be  ploughed  deep, 
and  the  weeding  of  them  be  carefully  attended  to,  and 
that  the  strong-bodied,  during  their  days  of  leisure,  shall 
cultivate  their  filial  piety,  fraternal  respectfulness,  sin- 
cerity, and  truthfulness,  serving  thereby,  at  home,  their 
fathers  and  elder  brothers,  and,  abroad,  their  elders  and 
superiors  ; you  will  then  have  a people  who  can  be  em- 
ployed, with  sticks  which  they  have  prepared,  to  oppose 
the  strong  mail  and  sharp  weapons  of  the  troops  of  Ts’in 
and  Ts’oo. 

“ The  rulers  of  those  States  rob  their  people  of  their 
time,  so  that  they  cannot  plough  and  weed  their  fields, 
in  order  to  support  their  parents.  Their  parents  suffer 
from  cold  and  hunger.  Brothers,  wives,  and  children 
are  separated  and  scattered  abroad. 

“ Those  rulers , as  it  were,  drive  their  people  into  pit- 
falls,  or  drown  them.  Your  Majesty  will  go  to  punish 
them.  In  such  a case,  who  will  oppose  your  Majesty  ? 

“ In  accordance  with  this  is  the  saying — The  benevo- 
lent has  no  enemy ! I beg  your  Majesty  not  to  doubt 
what  I say.” 

The  king  Seuen,  of  Ts’e,  said,  “ What  virtue  must 
there  be  in  order  to  the  attainment  of  imperial  sway  ? ” 

Mencius  answered,  “ The  love  and  protection  of  the 
people  ; with  this,  there  is  no  power  which  can  prevent  a 
ruler  from  attaining  it. 

“ An  intelligent  ruler  will  regulate  the  livelihood  of  the 
people,  so  as  to  make  sure  that,  above,  they  shall  have 
sufficient  wherewith  to  serve  their  parents,  and,  below, 
sufficient  wherewith  to  support  their  wives  and  children ; 
that  in  good  years  they  shall  always  be  abundantly 
satisfied,  and  that  in  bad  years  they  shall  escape  the  dan- 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


185 

ger  of  perishing.  After  this  he  may  urge  them,  and  they 
will  proceed  to  what  is  good,  for  in  this  case  the  people 
will  follow  after  that  with  case. 

“ Let  it  be  seen  to  that  their  fields  of  grain  and  hemp 
are  well  cultivated,  and  make  the  taxes  on  them  light : 
so  the  people  may  be  made  rich. 

“ Let  it  be  seen  to  that  the  people  use  their  resources 
of  food  seasonably,  and  expend  their  wealth  only  on  the 
prescribed  ceremonies : so  their  wealth  will  be  more  than 
can  be  consumed. 

“ The  people  cannot  live  without  water  and  fire,  yet 
if  you  knock  at  a man’s  door  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
and  ask  for  water  and  fire,  there  is  no  man  who  will  not 
give  them,  such  is  the  abundance  of  these  things.  A sage 
governs  the  empire  so  as  to  cause  pulse  and  grain  to  be 
as  abundant  as  water  and  fire.  When  pulse  and  grain 
are  as  abundant  as  water  and  fire,  how  shall  the  people 
be  other  than  virtuous? 

“ The  precious  things  of  a prince  are  three  : the  terri- 
tory, the  people,  the  government  and  its  business.  If 
one  value  as  most  precious,  pearls  and  stones,  calamity  is 
sure  to  befall  him.” 


ON  LEVYING  TAXES. 

Mencius  said,  “ A ruler  who  is  endowed  with  talents 
and  virtue  will  be  gravely  complaisant  and  economical, 
showing  a respectful  politeness  to  his  ministers,  and  tak- 
ing from  the  people  only  in  accordance  with  regulated 
limits.” 

Yang  hoo  said,  “ He  who  seeks  to  be  rich  will  not  be 


i86 


MENCIUS. 


benevolent.  He  who  wishes  to  be  benevolent  will  not 
be  rich. 

“ The  sovereign  of  the  Hea  dynasty  enacted  the  fifty 
fno7C  allotment,  and  the  payment  of  a tax.  The  founder 
of  the  Yin  enacted  the  seventy  mow  allotment,  and  the 
system  of  mutual  aid.  The  founder  of  the  Chow  dynasty 
enacted  the  hundred  mow  allotment,  and  the  share  sys- 
tem. In  reality,  what  was  paid  in  all  these  was  a tithe. 
The  share  system  means  mutual  division.  The  aid  sys- 
tem means  mutual  dependence.” 

Lung  said,  “ For  regulating  the  lands,  there  is  no  bet- 
ter system  than  that  of  mutual  aid,  and  none  which  is  not 
better  than  that  of  taxing.  By  the  tax  system,  the  regu- 
lar amount  was  fixed  by  taking  the  average  of  several 
years.  In  good  years,  when  the  grain  lies  about  in  abun- 
dance, much  might  be  taken  without  its  being  oppressive, 
and  the  actual  exaction  would  be  small.  But  in  bad 
years,  the  produce  being  not  sufficient  to  repay  the  ma- 
nuring of  the  fields,  this  system  still  requires  the  taking 
of  the  full  amount.  When  the  parent  of  the  people 
causes  the  people  to  wear  looks  of  distress,  and,  after  the 
whole  year’s  toil,  yet  not  to  be  able  to  nourish  their  pa- 
rents, so  that  they  proceed  to  borrowing  to  increase 
their  means,  till  the  old  people  and  children  are  found 
lying  in  the  ditches  and  water-channels : where,  in  such  a 
case , is  his  parental  relation  to  the  people  ? ” 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry : 

“ May  the  rain  come  down  on  our  public  field, 

And  then  upon  our  private  fields  ! ” 

It  is  only  in  the  system  of  mutual  aid  that  there  is  a 
public  field,  and  from  this  passage  we  perceive  that  even 
in  the  Chow  dynasty  this  system  has  been  recognized. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


IS7 


Mencius  said,  “ The  first  thing  towards  a benevolent 
government  must  be  to  lay  down  the  boundaries.  If  the 
boundaries  be  not  defined  correctly,  the  division  of  the 
land  into  squares  will  not  be  equal,  and  the  produce 
available  for  salaries  will  not  be  evenly  distributed.  On 
this  account,  oppressive  rulers  and  impure  ministers  are 
sure  to  neglect  this  defining  of  the  boundaries.  When 
the  boundaries  have  been  defined  correctly,  the  division 
of  the  fields  and  the  regulation  of  allowances  may  be  de- 
termined by  you,  sitting  at  your  ease. 

“ Although  the  territory  of  T’ang  is  narrow  and  small, 
yet  there  must  be  in  it  men  of  a superior  grade,  and  there 
must  be  in  it  countrymen.  If  there  were  not  men  of  a 
superior  grade,  there  would  be  none  to  rule  the  country- 
men. If  there  were  not  countrymen,  there  would  be  none 
to  support  the  men  of  superior  grade. 

“ I would  ask  you,  in  the  remoter  districts,  observing 
the  nine-squares  division,  to  reserve  one  division  to  be 
cultivated  on  the  system  of  mutual  aid,  and  in  the  more 
central  parts  of  the  kingdom,  to  make  the  people  pay  for 
themselves  a tenth  part  of  their  produce. 

“ From  the  highest  officers  down  to  the  lowest,  each 
one  must  have  his  holy  field,  consisting  of  fifty  mow.* 

“ A square  le  covers  nine  squares  of  land,  which  nine 
squares  contain  nine  hundred  mow.  The  central  square 


* Different  divisions  are  spoken  of — if  fifty  mow,  (Chinese  acres) 
then  five  must  be  set  apart  and  cultivated  for  the  public  good  : in 
the  division  of  nine  squares,  the  produce  of  the  ninth  went  to  gov- 
ernment. The  holy  field  was  the  portion  set  apart  to  supply  the 
means  to  maintain  the  sacrifices. 

In  China,  taxes  for  the  most  part  are  collected  under  the  desig- 
nation of  ground  rent. 


iSS 


MENCIUS. 


is  the  public  field,  and  eight  families,  each  having  its  pri- 
vate hundred  mow , cultivate  in  common  the  public  field. 
And  not  till  the  public  work  is  finished  may  they  presume 
to  attend  to  their  private  affairs. 

“Those  are  the  great  outlines  of  the  system.  Hap- 
pily, to  modify  and  adapt  it  depends  on  the  prince.” 

Tae  Ying-che  said  to  Mencius , “I  am  not  able  at  pres- 
ent and  immediately  to  do  with  the  levying  of  a tithe  only 
and  abolishing  the  duties  charged  at  the  passes,  and  in 
the  markets.  With  your  leave  I will  lighten,  however, 
both  the  tax  and  the  duties,  until  next  year,  and  will  then 
make  an  end  of  them.  What  do  you  think  of  such  a 
course  ? ” 

Mencius  said,  “ Here  is  a man,  who  every  day  appro- 
priates some  of  his  neighbors’  strayed  fowls.  Some  one 
said  to  him,  ‘ Such  is  not  the  way  of  a good  man  ;’  and 
he  replies,  ‘ With  your  leave  I will  diminish  my  appro- 
priations, and  will  take  only  one  fowl  a month,  until  next 
year,  when  I will  make  an  end  of  the  practice.’  If  you 
know  that  the  thing  is  unrighteous,  then  use  all  dispatch 
in  putting  an  end  to  it : why  wait  till  next  year?” 

Pih  Kwei  said,  “ I want  to  take  a twentieth  of  the  pro- 
duce only  as  the  tax.  What  do  you  think  of  it  ? ” 
Mencius  said,  “ Your  way  would  be  that  of  the  Mih. 

“ In  a country  of  ten  thousand  families,  would  it  do  to 
have  only  one  potter  ? ” Kwei  replied,  “ No.  The  ves- 
sels would  not  be  enough  to  use.” 

Mencius  went  on,  “ In  the  Mih,  all  the  five  kinds  of 
grain  are  not  grown;  it  only  produces  the  millet.  There 
are  no  fortified  cities,  no  edifices,  no  ancestral  temples, 
no  ceremonies  of  sacrifice  ; there  are  no  princes  requir- 
ing presents  and  entertainments  ; there  is  no  system  of 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


189 


officers  with  their  various  subordinates.  On  these  ac- 
counts, a tax  of  one-twentieth  of  the  produce  is  sufficient 
there. 

“ But  now  it  is  the  Middle  Kingdom  that  we  live  in. 
To  banish  the  relationships  of  men,  and  have  no  supe- 
rior men  : how  can  such  a state  of  things  be  thought  of? 

“ With  but  few  potters  a kingdom  cannot  subsist : how 
much  less  can  it  subsist  without  men  of  a higher  rank 
than  others  ? 

“ There  are  the  exactions  of  hempen  cloth  and  silk,  of 
grain,  and  of  personal  service.  The  prince  requires  but 
one  of  these  at  once , deferring  the  other  two.  If  he  re- 
quire two  of  them  at  once , then  the  people  die  of  hunger. 
If  he  require  the  three  at  once,  then  fathers  and  sons  are 
separated.” 


ON  DIVISION  OF  LABOR. 

Chi’n  Seang,  having  an  interview  with  Mencius,  related 
to  him  with  approbation  the  words  of  Heu  Hing  to  the 
following  effect : “ The  prince  of  T ang  is  indeed  a worthy 
prince.  He  has  not  yet  heard,  however,  the  real  doctrines 
of  antiquity.  Now,  wise  and  able  princes  should  culti- 
vate the  ground  equally  and  along  with  their  people,  and 
eat  the  fruit  of  their  labor.  They  should  prepare  their 
own  meals,  morning  and  evening,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  carry  on  their  government.  But  now,  the  prince  of 
Tang  has  his  granaries,  treasuries,  and  arsenals,  which  is 
an  oppressing  of  the  people  to  nourish  himself.  How 
can  he  be  deemed  a real  worthy  prince  ? ” 

Mencius  said,  “ I suppose  that  Heu  Hing  sows  grain 
and  eats  the  produce.  Is  it  not  so  ? ” “ It  is  so,”  was 


190 


MENCIUS. 


the  answer.  “ I suppose  also  he  weaves  cloth,  and  wears 
his  own  manufacture.  Is  it  not  so  ? ” “ No.  Heu 

wears  clothes  of  haircloth.”  “ Does  he  wear  a cap  ? ” 
“ He  wears  a cap.”  “ What  kind  of  a cap  ? ” “A  plain 
cap.”  “ Is  it  woven  by  himself?”  “ No.  He  gets  it  in 
exchange  for  grain.”  “ Why  does  Heu  not  weave  it  him- 
self?” “That  would  injure  his  husbandry.”  “Does 
Heu  cook  his  food  in  boilers  and  earthen-ware  pans,  and 
does  he  plough  with  an  iron  share  ? ” “ Yes.”  “ Does 

he  make  those  articles  himself?  ” “ No.  He  gets  them 

in  exchange  for  grain.” 

Mencius  then  said,  “ The  getting  those  various  articles 
in  exchange  for  grain,  is  not  oppression  to  the  potter 
and  the  founder ; and  the  potter  and  founder,  in  their 
turn,  in  exchanging  their  various  articles  for  grain,  are 
not  oppressive  to  the  husbandman.  How  should  such  a 
thing  be  supposed  ? And,  moreover,  why  does  not  Heu 
act  the  potter  and  founder,  supplying  himself  with  the 
articles  which  he  uses  solely  from  his  own  establishment  ? 
Why  does  he  go  confusedly  dealing  and  exchanging  with 
the  handicraftsmen  ? Why  does  he  not  spare  himself  so 
much  trouble?”  Ch'in  Seang  replied , “The  business  of 
the  handicraftsman  can  by  no  means  be  carried  on  long 
with  the  business  of  husbandry.” 

Mencius  resumed,  “ Then  is  it  the  government  of  the 
empire  which  alone  can  be  carried  on  along  with  the 
practice  of  husbandry?  Great  men  have  their  proper 
business,  and  little  men  have  their  proper  business. 
Moreover,  in  the  case  of  any  single  individual,  what- 
ever articles  he  can  require  are  ready  to  his  hand,  being 
produced  by  the  various  handicraftsmen  ; if  he  must  first 
make  them  for  his  own  use,  this  way  of  doing  would 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


IQ* 

keep  the  whole  empire  running  about  upon  the  roads. 
Hence,  there  is  the  saying,  ‘ Some  labor  with  their  minds, 
and  some  labor  with  their  strength.  Those  who  labor 
with  their  minds  govern  others  ; those  who  labor  with 
their  strength  are  governed  by  others.  Those  who  are 
governed  by  others  support  them  ; those  who  govern 
others  are  supported  by  them.’  This  is  a principle  uni- 
versally recognized.”  * 

Ch'in  Scang  said,  “ If  Heu’s  doctrines  were  followed 
then  there  would  not  be  two  prices  in  the  market,  nor 
any  deceit  in  the  kingdom.  If  a boy  of  live  cubits  were 
sent  to  the  market,  no  one  would  impose  on  him  ; linen 
and  silk  of  the  same  length  would  be  of  the  same  price. 
So  it  would  be  with  bundles  of  hemp  and  silk,  being  of 
the  same  weight ; with  the  different  hanks  of  grain,  being 
the  same  in  quantity ; and  with  those  which  were  of  the 
same  size.” 

Mencius  replied,  “ It  is  the  nature  of  things  to  be  of 
unequal  quality.  Some  are  twice,  some  five  times,  some 
ten  times,  some  a hundred  times,  some  a thousand  times, 
some  ten  thousand  times,  as  valuable  as  others.  If  you 
reduce  them  all  to  the  same  standard,  that  must  throw 
the  empire  into  confusion.  If  large  shoes  and  small 
shoes  were  of  the  same  price,  who  would  make  them  ? 
For  people  to  follow  the  doctrines  of  Heu,  would  be  for 
them  to  lead  one  another  on  to  practice  deceit.  How 
can  they  avail  for  the  government  of  a State  ? 

“ If  you  do  not  have  an  intercommunication  of  the 
productions  of  labor  and  an  interchange  of  mm's  ser- 
vices, so  that  one  from  his  overplus  may  supply  the  de- 


* And  those  who  think  still  govern  those  who  toil. — Pope. 


192 


MENCIUS. 


ficiency  of  another , then  husbandmen  will  have  a super- 
fluity of  grain,  and  women  will  have  a superfluity  of 
cloth.  If  you  have  such  an  interchange,  carpenters  and 
carriage-wrights  may  all  get  their  food  from  you.  Here, 
now,  is  a man  who  at  home  is  filial,  and  abroad  respectful 
to  his  elders  ; who  watches  over  the  principles  of  the 
ancient  kings,  awaiting  the  rise  of  future  learners  : and 
yet  you  will  refuse  to  support  him.  How  is  it  that  you 
give  honor  to  the  carpenter  and  carriage-wright,  and  slight 
him  who  practices  benevolence  and  righteousness  ?” 
P'ang  Rung  said,  “ The  aim  of  the  carpenter  and  car- 
riage-wright is  by  their  trades  to  seek  for  a living.  Is  it 
also  the  aim  of  the  superior  man  in  his  practice  of  prin- 
ciples thereby  to  seek  for  a living  ?”  “ What  have  you 

to  do,”  returned  Mencius , “ with  his  purpose  ? He  is  of 
service  to  you.  He  deserves  to  be  supported,  and  should 
be  supported.  And,  let  me  ask , do  you  remunerate  a 
man’s  intention,  or  do  you  remunerate  his  service  ?”  To 
this  Kang  replied,  “ I remunerate  his  intention.”* 

Mencius  said,  “ There  is  a man  here  who  breaks  your 
tiles  and  draws  unsightly  figures  on  your  walls  ; his  pur- 
pose may  be  thereby  to  seek  for  his  living,  but  will  you 
indeed  remunerate  him  ?”  “ No,”  said  Kang  ; and  Men- 

cius then  concluded  : “ That  being  the  case,  it  is  not  the 
purpose  which  you  remunerate,  but  the  work  done.” 


* Encourage  learning,  and  especially  reward  those  who  teach 
virtue.  The  teacher  deserves  support  as  well  as  the  artisan. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


193 


ENCOURAGE  LEARNING  AND  COMMERCE.  LET  THE  OF- 
FICES BE  FILLED  EY  PERSONS  OF  EDUCATION. 

Mencius  said,  “ If  a ruler  give  honor  to  men  of  talents 
and  virtue,  and  employ  the  able,  so  that  offices  shall  all 
be  filled  by  individuals  of  distinction  and  mark,  then  all 
the  scholars  of  the  empire  will  be  pleased,  and  wish  to 
stand  in  his  court. 

“ If,  in  the  market-place  of  his  capital , he  levy  a ground- 
rent  on  the  shops  but  do  not  tax  the  goods,  or  enforce 
the  proper  regulations  without  levying  a ground-rent, 
then  all  the  traders  of  the  empire  will  be  pleased,  and 
wish  to  store  their  goods  in  his  market-place. 

“ If,  at  his  frontier  passes,  there  be  an  inspection  of 
persons,  but  no  taxes  charged  on  goods  or  other  articles , 
then  all  the  travelers  of  the  empire  will  be  pleased,  and 
wish  to  make  their  tours  on  his  roads. 

“ If  he  require  that  the  husbandmen  give  their  mutual 
aid  to  cultivate  the  public  field,  and  exact  no  other  taxes 
from  them,  then  all  the  husbandmen  of  the  empire  will  be 
pleased,  and  wish  to  plough  in  his  fields. 

“ If  from  the  occupiers  of  the  shops  in  his  market- 
place he  do  not  exact  the  fine  of  the  individual  idler,  or 
of  the  hamlet’s  quota  of  cloth,  then  all  the  people  of  the 
empire  will  be  pleased,  and  wish  to  come  and  be  his 
people. 

“ If  a ruler  can  truly  practice  these  five  things,  then 
the  people  in  the  neighboring  kingdoms  will  look  up  to 
him  as  a parent.  From  the  first  birth  of  mankind  till 
now,  never  has  any  one  led  children  to  attack  their 
parents  and  succeeded  in  his  design.  Thus,  such  a ruler 
9 


194 


MENCIUS. 


will  not  have  an  enemy  in  all  the  empire ; and  he  who 
has  no  enemy  in  the  empire,  is  the  minister  of  Heaven. 
Never  has  there  been  a ruler  in  such  a case  who  did  not 
attain  to  the  imperial  dignity. 

“ When  scholars  are  put  to  death  without  any  crime, 
the  great  officers  may  leave  the  country.  When  the  peo- 
ple are  slaughtered  without  any  crime,  the  scholars  may 
remove.” 


CULTIVATION  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS  A HELP  TO  GOOD  GOV- 
ERNMENT. 

Chwang  Paou,  seeing  Mencius,  said  to  him,  “ I had  an 
audience  of  the  king.  His  Majesty  told  me  that  he  loved 
music,  and  I was  not  prepared  with  anything  to  reply  to 
him.  What  do  you  pronounce  about  that  love  of  music  ?” 
Mencius  replied,  “ If  the  king’s  love  of  music  were 
very  great,  the  kingdom  of  Ts’e  would  be  near  to  a state 
of  good  goz’ernment.”  * 

Another  day,  Mencius,  having  an  audience  of  the  king, 
said,  “ Your  Majesty,  I have  heard,  told  the  officer 
Chwang  that  you  love  music ; was  it  so  ?”  The  king 
changed  color,  and  said,  “ I am  unable  to  love  the  music 
of  the  ancient  sovereigns ; I only  love  the  music  that 
suits  the  manners  of  the  present  age.” 

Mencius  said,  “ If  your  Majesty’s  love  of  music  were 
very  great,  Ts’e  would  be  near  to  a state  of  good  govcrn- 


* The  opinion  of  the  Chinese  sages  concerning  “him  who  has 
no  music  in  his  soul  ” appears  to  have  been  similar  to  that  of  the 
old  English  bard. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


195 

merit ! The  music  of  the  present  day  is  just  like  the 
music  of  antiquity,  in  regard  to  affecting  that.” 

The  king  said,  “ May  I hear  from  you  the  proof  of 
that  ?”  Mencius  asked,  “Which  is  the  more  pleasant — to 
enjoy  music  by  yourself  alone,  or  to  enjoy  it  along  with 
others  ?”  “ To  enjoy  it  along  with  others,”  was  the  re- 

ply. “ And  which  is  the  more  pleasant,  to  enjoy  music 
along  with  a few,  or  to  enjoy  it  along  with  many  ?”  “ To 

enjoy  it  along  with  many.” 

Mencius  proceeded , “Your  servant  begs  to  explain  what 
I have  said  about  music  to  your  Majesty. 

“ Now,  your  Majesty  is  having  music  here.  The  people 
hear  the  noise  of  your  bells  and  drums,  and  the  notes  of 
your  fifes  and  pipes,  and  they  all,  with  aching  heads,  knit 
their  brows,  and  say  to  one  another,  ‘ That’s  how  our 
king  likes  his  music  ! But  why  does  he  reduce  us  to 
this  extremity  of  distress  ? Fathers  and  sons  cannot  see 
one  another.  Elder  brothers  and  younger  brothers, 
wives  and  children,  are  separated  and  scattered  abroad.’ 
Now,  your  Majesty  is  hunting  here.  The  people  hear  the 
noise  of  your  carriages  and  horses,  and  see  the  beauty  of 
your  plumes  and  streamers,  and  they  all,  with  aching 
heads,  knit  their  brows,  and  say  to  one  another,  ‘ That’s 
how  our  king  likes  his  hunting ! But  why  does  he  reduce 
us  to  the  extremity  of  distress  1 Fathers  and  sons  cannot 
see  one  another.  Elder  brothers  and  younger  brothers, 
wives  and  children,  are  separated  and  scattered  abroad.’ 
Their  feeling  thus  is  from  no  other  reason  but  that  you 
do  not  give  the  people  to  have  pleasure,  as  well  as  your- 
self. 

“ Now,  your  Majesty  is  having  music  here.  The  people 
hear  the  noise  of  your  bells  and  drums,  and  the  notes  of 


i<)6 


MENCIUS. 


your  fifes  and  pipes,  and  they  all,  delighted,  and  with 
joyful  looks,  say  to  one  another,  ‘ That  sounds  as  if  our 
king  were  free  from  all  sickness ! If  he  were  not,  how 
could  he  enjoy  this  music  ?’  Now,  your  Majesty  is  hunt- 
ing here.  The  people  hear  the  noise  of  your  carriages 
and  horses,  and  see  the  beauty  of  your  plumes  and 
streamers,  and  they  all,  delighted,  and  with  joyful  looks, 
say  to  one  another,  ‘ That  looks  as  if  our  king  were  free 
from  all  sickness  ! If  he  were  not,  how  could  he  enjoy 
this  hunting  ?’  Their  feeling  thus  is  from  no  other  rea- 
son but  that  you  cause  them  to  have  their  pleasure,  as 
you  have  yours. 

“ If  your  Majesty  now  will  make  pleasure  a thing  com- 
mon to  the  people  and  yourself,  the  imperial  sway  awaits 
you.” 

The  king  Seuen,  of  Ts’e,  asked,  “Was  it  so,  that  the 
park  of  king  AVan  contained  seventy  square  le  1 ” Men- 
cius replied,  “ It  is  so  in  the  records.” 

“ Was  it  so  large  as  that  ? ” exclaimed  the  king.  “The 
people,”  said  Mencius,  “ still  looked  on  it  as  small.” 
The  King  added,  “ My  park  contains  only  forty  square  le , 
and  the  people  still  look  on  it  as  large.  How  is  this  ? ” 
“ The  park  of  king  Wan,”  was  the  reply,  “ contained  sev- 
enty square  le,  but  the  grass  cutters  and  fuel  gatherers 
had  the  privilege  of  entrance  into  it  ; so  also  had  the 
catchers  of  pheasants  and  hares.  He  shared  it  with  the 
people,  and  was  it  not  with  reason  that  they  looked  on  it 
as  small  ? 

“ When  I first  arrived  at  the  borders  of  your  State , I 
inquired  about  the  great  prohibitory  regulations,  before 
I would  venture  to  enter  it ; and  I heard,  that  inside  the 
border-gates  there  was  a park  of  forty  square  le,  and  that 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


197 


he  who  killed  a deer  in  it,  was  held  guilty  of  the  same 
crime  as  if  he  had  killed  a man.  Thus  those  forty  square 
le,  are  a pitfall  in  the  middle  of  the  kingdom.  Is  it  not 
with  reason  that  the  people  look  upon  them  as  large  ? ” 

The  king  Seuen,  of  Ts’e,  had  an  interview  with  Men- 
cius in  the  snow  palace,  and  said  to  him,  “ Do  men  of 
talents  and  worth  likewise  find  pleasure  in  these  things  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ They  do,  and  if  people  generally 
are  not  able  to  enjoy  themselves , they  condemn  their  supe- 
riors. 

“ For  them,  when  they  cannot  enjoy  themselves,  to  con- 
demn their  superiors  is  wrong ; but  when  the  superiors 
of  the  people  do  not  make  enjoyment  a thing  common 
to  the  people  and  themselves,  they  also  do  wrong. 

“When  a ruler  rejoices  in  the  joy  of  his  people,  they 
also  rejoice  in  his  joy ; when  he  grieves  at  the  sorrow  of 
his  people,  they  also  grieve  at  his  sorrow.  A sympathy 
of  joy  will  pervade  the  empire  ; a sympathy  of  sorrow 
will  do  the  same : in  such  a state  of  things,  it  cannot  be 
but  that  the  ruler  attain  to  the  imperial  dynasty. 

“ Formerly,  the  duke,  king  of  Ts’e,  asked  the  minister 
Ngan,  saying,  ‘ I wish  to  pay  a visit  of  inspection  to 
Chuen-foo,  and  Chaou-woo,  and  then  to  bend  my  course 
southward  along  the  shore,  till  I come  to  Lang-yay. 
What  shall  I do  that  my  tour  may  be  fit  to  be  compared 
with  the  visits  of  inspection  made  by  the  ancient  empe- 
rors ? ’ 

“ The  minister  Ngan  replied,  * An  excellent  inquiry ! 
When  the  emperor  visited  the  princes,  it  was  called  a 
tour  of  inspection ; that  is,  he  surveyed  the  States  under 
his  care.  When  the  princes  attended  at  the  court  of  the 
emperor,  it  was  called  a report  of  office ; that  is,  they 


198 


MENCIUS. 


reported  their  administration  of  their  offices.*  Thus 
neither  of  the  proceedings  was  without  a purpose.  And 
moreover , in  the  spring  they  examined  the  plowing,  and 
supplied  any  deficiency  of  seed;  in  the  autumn  they  ex- 
amined the  reaping,  and  supplied  any  deficiency  of  yield. 
There  is  the  saying  of  the  Hea  dynasty — If  our  king  do 
not  take  his  ramble,  what  will  become  of  our  happiness  ? 
If  our  king  do  not  make  his  excursions,  what  will  become 
of  our  help  ? That  ramble,  and  that  excursion  were  a 
pattern  to  the  princes. 

“ ‘ Now,  the  state  of  things  is  different.  A host  march- 
es in  attendance  on  the  ruler , and  stores  of  provisions  are 
consumed.  The  hungry  are  deprived  of  their  food,  and 
there  is  no  rest  for  those  who  are  called  to  toil.  Male- 
dictions are  uttered  by  one  to  another  with  eyes  askance, 
and  the  people  proceed  to  the  commission  of  wickedness. 
Thus  the  Imperial  ordinances  are  violated,  and  the  peo- 
ple are  oppressed,  and  the  supplies  of  food  and  drink  flow 
away  like  water.  The  rulers  yield  themselves  to  the  cur- 
rent, or  they  urge  their  way  against  it ; they  are  wild  ; 
they  are  utterly  lost : these  things  proceed  to  the  grief 
of  their  subordinate  governors. 

“ ‘ Descending  along  with  the  current,  and  forgetting 
to  return,  is  what  I call  yielding  to  it.  Passing  up  against 
it,  and  forgetting  to  return,  is  what  I call  urging  their 
way  against  it.  Pursuing  the  chase  without  satiety,  is 
what  I call  being  wild.  Delighting  in  wine  without  sa- 
tiety, is  what  I call  being  lost. 


* This  tour  of  inspection  seems  to  have  been  made  under  the 
Chow  dynasty  once  in  twelve  years,  while  the  princes  had  to  pre- 
sent themselves  at  court  once  in  six  years. 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


199 


The  ancient  emperors  had  no  pleasures  to  which  they 
gave  themselves  as  on  the  flowing  stream  ; no  doings 
which  might  be  so  characterized  as  wild  and  lost. 

“ ‘ It  is  for  you  my  prince,  to  pursue  your  course.’  ” 

“ The  duke  King  was  pleased.  He  issued  a proclama- 
tion throughout  his  State,  and  went  out  and  occupied  a 
shed  in  the  borders.  From  that  time  he  began  to  open 
his  granaries  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  call- 
ing the  Grand  Music  Master,  he  said  to  him  : ‘ Make 
for  me  music  to  suit  a prince,  and  his  minister,  pleased 
with  each  other.’  And  it  was  then  that  the  Che-shaou 
and  Keo-shaou  were  made  in  the  poetry  to  which  it  was 
said,  ‘ What  fault  is  it  to  restrain  one’s  prince  ? ’ He  who 
restrains  his  prince  loves  his  prince.”* 


EFFECTS  OF  GOOD  GOVERNMENT.  EXAMPLES  OF  WELL- 
REGULATED  STATES. 

The  king  Seuen,  of  T’se,  said,  “ People  all  tell  me  to 
pull  down  and  remove  the  Brilliant  palace.  Shall  I pull 
it  down,  or  stop  the  movement  for  that  object  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ The  Brilliant  palace  is  a palace  ap- 
propriate to  the  emperors.  If  your  Majesty  wishes  to 
practice  the  true  Royal  government,  then  do  not  pull  it 
down.” 

The  king  said,  “ May  I hear  from  you  what  the  true 
Royal  government  is  ? ” “ Formerly,”  was  the  reply, 

“ King  Wun’s  government  of  K’e  was  as  follows  : The 


* The  Che-shaou  and  Keo-shaou,  probably,  were  two  tunes  or 
pieces  of  music  starting  with  the  notes  Che  and  Keo  respectively. 


200 


MENCIUS. 


husbandmen  cultivated  for  the  government  one-ninth  of 
the  land  ; the  descendants  of  officers  were  salaried  ; at 
the  passes  and  in  the  markets,  strangers  were  inspected, 
but  goods  were  not  taxed  ; there  were  no  prohibitions  re- 
specting the  ponds  and  weirs  ; the  wives  and  children  of 
criminals  were  not  involved  in  their  guilt.  There  were 
the  old  and  wiveless,  or  widowers  ; the  old  and  husband- 
less, or  widows  ; the  old  and  childless,  or  solitaries  ; the 
young  and  fatherless,  or  orphans  : these  four  classes  are 
the  most  destitute  of  the  people,  and  have  none  to  whom 
they  can  tell  their  wants,  and  King  Wan,  in  the  institu- 
tion of  his  government  with  its  benevolent  action,  made 
them  the  first  objects  of  his  regard,  as  it  is  said  in  the 
Book  of  Poetry, 

‘ The  rich  may  get  through  ; 

But  alas  ! for  the  miserable  and  solitary  ! ’ ” 

The  king  said,  “ O excellent  words  ! ” Mencius  said, 
“ Since  your  Majesty  deems  them  excellent,  why  do  you 
not  practice  them  ?”  “ I have  an  infirmity,”  said  the 

king  ; “ I am  fond  of  wealth.”  The  reply  was,  “ For- 
merly, Kung-lew  was  fond  of  wealth.  It  is  said  in  the 
Book  of  Poetry, 

‘ He  reared  his  ricks,  and  filled  his  granaries, 

He  tied  up  dried  provisions  and  grain 

In  bottomless  bags,  and  sacks, 

That  he  might  gather  his  people  together,  and  glorify 
his  State. 

With  bows  and  arrows  all  displayed, 

With  shields,  and  spears,  and  battle-axes,  large  and 
small, 

He  commenced  his  march.’ 

“ In  this  way  those  who  remained  in  their  old  seat  had 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


20  r 


their  ricks  and  granaries,  and  those  who  marched  had 
their  bags  of  provisions.  It  was  not  till  after  this  that 
he  thought  he  could  commence  his  march.  If  your  Maj- 
esty loves  wealth,  let  the  people  be  able  to  gratify  the 
same  feeling,  and  what  difficulty  will  there  be  in  your  at- 
taining the  imperial  sway  ? ” 

The  king  said,  “ I have  an  infirmity  ; I am  fond  of 
beauty.”  The  reply  was,  “ Formerly,  King  T’ae  was 
fond  of  beauty,  and  loved  his  wife.  It  is  said  in  the  Book 
of  Poetry, 

‘ Koo-Kung  T’an-foo 

Came  in  the  morning,  galloping  his  horse, 

By  the  banks  of  the  western  waters, 

As  far  as  the  foot  of  K’e  hill, 

Along  with  the  lady  of  Keang  ; 

They  came  and  together  chose  the  site  of  settlement.’ 
“ At  that  time,  in  the  seclusion  of  the  house,  there 
were  no  dissatisfied  women,  and  abroad,  there  were  no 
unmarried  men.  If  your  Majesty  loves  beauty,  let  the 
people  be  able  to  gratify  the  same  feeling,  and  what  diffi- 
culty will  there  be  in  your  attaining  the  imperial  sway  ? ” 
“ It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  History,  ‘As  soon  as  T’ang 
began  his  work  of  executing  justice,  he  commenced  with 
Ko.  . The  whole  empire  had  confidence  in  him.  When 
he  pursued  his  work  in  the  east,  the  rude  tribes  on  the 
west  murmured.  So  did  those  on  the  north,  when  he  was 
engaged  in  the  south.  Their  cry  was — Why  does  he  make 
us  last?  Thus,  the  looking  of  the  people  to  him  was  like 
the  looking  in  a time  of  great  drought  to  the  clouds  and 
rainbows.  The  frequenters  of  the  markets  stopped  not. 
The  husbandmen  made  no  change  in  their  operations. 
While  he  punished  their  rulers,  he  consoled  the  people. 

9* 


202 


MENCIUS. 


His  progress  was  like  the  falling  of  opportune  rain,  and 
the  people  were  delighted.’  It  is  said  again  in  the  Book 
of  History,  ‘ We  have  waited  for  our  prince  long;  the 
prince’s  coming:  will  be  our  reviving:.’  ” 

“ In  the  flourishing  periods  of  the  Hea,  Yin,  and  Chow 
dynasties,  the  imperial  domain  did  not  extend  a thousand 
le,  and  Ts’e  embraces  so  much  territory.  Cocks  crow 
and  dogs  bark  to  each  other,  all  the  way  to  the  four  bor- 
ders of  the  State  : so  Ts’e  possesses  the  people.  No 
change  is  needed  for  the  enlarging  of  its  territory ; no 
change  is  needed  for  the  collecting  of  a population.  If 
its  ruler  will  put  in  practice  a benevolent  government, 
no  power  will  be  able  to  prevent  his  becoming  emperor.” 
The  duke  King  of  Ts’e,  said,  “ Not  to  be  able  to  com- 
mand others,  and  at  the  same  time  to  refuse  to  receive 
their  commands,  is  to  cut  one’s  self  off  from  all  inter- 
course with  others. 

“ Now  the  small  States  imitate  the  large,  and  yet  are 
ashamed  to  receive  their  commands.  This  is  like  a schol- 
ar’s being  ashamed  to  receive  the  commands  of  his  mas- 
ter.” 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry, 

“ The  descendants  of  the  emperors  of  the  Shang  dy- 
nasty 

Are  in  numbers  more  than  hundreds  of  thousands, 
But,  God  having  passed  His  decree, 

They  are  all  submissive  to  Chow. 

They  are  submissive  to  Chow, 

Because  the  decree  of  Heaven  is  not  unchanging. 

The  officers  of  Yin,  admirable  and  alert, 

Pour  out  the  libations,  and  assist  in  the  capital  of 
Chow.” 


ON  GOVERNMENT. 


203 


“If  the  sovereign  of  a State  love  benevolence,  he  will 
have  no  enemy  in  the  empire.” 


EFFECTS  OF  BAD  GOVERNMENT. 

Mencius  said  to  king  Seuen,  “ The  ruler  of  Yen  was 
tyranizing  over  his  people,  and  your  Majesty  went  and 
punished  him.  The  people  supposed  that  you  were  going 
to  deliver  them  out  of  the  water  and  the  fire,  and  brought 
baskets  of  rice  and  vessels  of  Congee,  to  meet  your 
Majesty’s  hosts.  But  you  have  slain  their  fathers  and 
elder  brothers,  and  put  their  sons  and  younger  brothers 
in  chains.  You  have  pulled  down  the  ancestral  temple 
of  the  State , and  are  removing  to  Ts’e  its  precious  ves- 
sels. How  can  such  a course  be  deemed  proper  ? The 
rest  of  the  empire  is  indeed  jealously  afraid  of  the 
strength  of  Ts’e,  and  now,  when  with  a doubtful  terri- 
tory, you  do  not  put  in  practice  a benevolent  govern- 
ment ; it  is  this  which  sets  the  arms  of  the  empire  in 
motion. 

“ If  your  Majesty  will  make  haste  to  issue  an  ordi- 
nance restoring  your  captives , old  and  young,  stopping 
the  removal  of  the  precious  vessels,  and  saying  that  after 
consulting  with  the  people  of  Yen,  you  will  appoint 
them  a ruler,  and  withdraw  from  the  country : in  this 
way  you  may  still  be  able  to  stop  the  threatened  attack .” 


THE  EMPEROR'S  TOUR  OF  INSPECTION. 

The  emperor  visited  the  princes,  which  was  called  “ a 
tour  of  inspection.”  The  princes  attended  at  the  court 


204 


MENCIUS. 


of  the  emperor,  which  was  called  “ giving  a report  of 
office.”  It  was  the  custom  in  the  spring  to  examine  the 
ploughing,  and  supply  any  deficiency  of  seed ' and  in  au- 
tumn to  examine  the  reaping,  and  assist  where  there  was 
a deficiency  of  the  crop.  When  ihe  emperor  entered  the 
boundaries  of  a State,  if  the  new  ground  was  being  re- 
claimed, and  the  old  fields  well  cultivated ; if  the  old 
were  nourished  and  the  worthy  honored,  and  if  men  of 
distinguished  talents  were  placed  in  office  : then  the 
prince  was  rewarded — rewarded  with  an  addition  to  his 
territory.  On  the  other  hand,  if,  on  entering  a State,  the 
ground  was  found  left  wild  or  overrun  with  weeds ; if  the 
old  were  neglected  and  the  worthy  unhonored,  and  if 
the  offices  were  filled  with  hard  tax-gatherers  : then  the 
prince  was  reprimanded.  If  a prince  once  omitted  his 
attendance  at  court,  he  was  punished  by  degradation  of 
rank ; if  he  did  so  a second  time,  -he  was  deprived  of  a 
portion  of  his  territory  ; if  he  did  so  a third  time,  the 
imperial  forces  were  set  in  motion,  and  he  was  removed 
from  his  government.  Thus  the  emperor  commanded 
the  punishment,  but  did  not  himself  inflict  it,  while  the 
princes  inflicted  the  punishment,  but  did  not  command  it. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


205 


CHAPTER  II. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


PASSION  NATURE. 

Kung-sun  Ch’ow  asked  Mencius , saying,  “ Master,  if 
you  were  to  be  appointed  a high  noble  and  the  prime 
minister  of  Ts’e,  so  as  to  be  able  to  carry  your  principles 
into  practice,  though  you  should  thereupon  raise  the 
prince  to  the  headship  of  all  the  other  princes,  or  even 
to  the  imperial  dignity,  it  would  not  be  to  be  wondered 
at.  In  such  a position  would  your  mind  be  perturbed 
or  not  ?”  Mencius  replied,  “ No.  At  forty,  I attained 
to  an  unperturbed  mind.”  * 

Kung-sun  Ch’ow  said,  “ May  I venture  to  ask  an  ex- 
planation from  you,  Master,  of  how  you  maintain  an 
unperturbed  mind,  and  how  the  philosopher  Kaou  does 
the  same  ?”  Mencius  answered,  “ Kaou  says,  1 What  is 
not  attained  in  words  is  not  to  be  sought  for  in  the 


* The  Chinese  consider  man  at  forty  to  be  at  his  best  physical 
and  mental  estate,  and  if  at  this  age  he  has  failed  in  the  forma- 
tion of  a good  character,  they  have  henceforth  no  hope  for  him. 


;g6 


MENCIUS. 


mind  ; what  produces  dissatisfaction  in  the  mind,  is  not 
to  be  helped  by  passion  effort.’  This  last — when  there 
is  unrest  in  the  mind,  not  to  seek  for  relief  from  passion 
effort — may  be  conceded.  But  not  to  seek  in  the  mind 
for  what  is  not  attained  in  words,  cannot  be  conceded. 
The  will  is  the  leader  of  the  passion  nature.  The  passion 
nature  pervades  and  animates  the  body.  The  will  is 
first  and  chief,  and  the  passion  nature  is  subordinate  to 
it.  Therefore,  I say,  maintain  firm  the  will,  and  do  no 
violence  to  the  passion  nature.”  * 

Ch'ow  observed , “ Since  you  say  ‘ The  will  is  chief,  and 
the  passion  nature  is  subordinate,’  how  do  you  also  say, 
‘ Maintain  firm  the  will,  and  do  no  violence  to  the  passion 
nature  ?’  ” Mencius  replied,  “ When  it  is  the  will  alone 
which  is  active,  it  moves  the  passion  nature.  When  it 
is  the  passion  nature  alone  which  is  active,  it  moves  the 
will.  For  instance,  now,  in  the  case  of  a man  falling  or 
running : that  it  is  from  the  passion  nature,  and  yet  it 
moves  the  mind.” 

“ I venture  to  ask,”  said  Chow  again , “ wherein  you, 
Master,  surpass  Kaou .”  Mencius  told  him,  “ I under- 
stand words.  I am  skillful  in  nourishing  my  vast,  flow- 
ing passion-nature.” 

Ch'ow  pursued,  “ I venture  to  ask  what  you  mean  by 
your  vast,  flowing  passion-nature  ? ” The  reply  was, 
“ It  is  difficult  to  describe  it. 

“ This  is  the  passion-nature  : It  is  exceedingly  great, 
and  exceedingly  strong.  Being  nourished  by  rectitude, 


* “ Passion  nature  ” includes  emotions,  desires,  appetites  ; these 
must  be  kept  under  control  of  the  will,  guided  by  an  instructed 
mind. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


207 


and  sustaining  no  injury,  it  fills  up  all  between  heaven 
and  earth. 

“ This  is  the  passion-nature  : It  is  the  mate  and  as- 
sistant of  righteousness  and  reason.  Without  it,  man  is 
in  a state  of  starvation. 

“ It  is  produced  by  the  accumulation  of  righteous 
deeds ; it  is  not  to  be  obtained  by  incidental  acts  of 
righteousness.  If  the  mind  does  not  feel  complacency 
in  the  conduct,  the  nature  becomes  starved.  I therefore 
said,  ‘ Kaou  has  never  understood  righteousness,  because 
he  makes  it  something  external ! ’ 

“ There  must  be  the  constant  practice  of  this  righteous- 
ness, but  without  the  object  of  thereby  nourishing  the  pas- 
sion-nature. Let  not  the  mind  forget  its  work , but  let 
there  be  no  assisting  the  growth  of  that  Jiature.  Let  us  not 
be  like  the  man  of  Sung.  There  was  a man  of  Sung,  who 
was  grieved  that  his  growing  corn  was  not  longer,  and  so 
he  pulled  it  up.  Having  done  this , he  returned  home, 
looking  very  stupid,  and  said  to  his  people,  ‘ I am  tired 
to-day.  I have  been  helping  the  corn  to  grow  long  ! ’ 
His  son  ran  to  look  at  it,  and  found  the  corn  all  with- 
ered. There  are  few  in  the  world  who  do  not  deal  with 
their  passion-nature  as  if  they  were  assisting  the  corn  to 
grow  long.  Some  indeed  consider  it  of  no  benefit  to 
them,  and  let  it  alone : they  do  not  weed  their  corn. 
They  who  assist  it  to  grow  long  pull  out  their  corn. 
What  they  do  is  not  only  of  no  benefit  to  the  nature , but 
it  also  injures  it.” 

Rung-sun  Ch’ow  further  asked,  “What  do  you  mean  by 
saying  that  you  understand  whatever  words  you  heart” 
Mencius  replied,  “ When  words  are  one-sided,  I know 
how  the  mind  of  the  speaker  is  clouded  over.  When 


MENCIUS. 


2cS 

words  are  extravagant,  I know  how  the  mind  is  fallen 
and  sunk.  When  words  are  all-depraved,  I know  how 
the  mind  has  departed  from  principle.  When  words  are 
evasive,  I know  how  the  mind  is  at  its  wit’s  end.  These 
evils  growing  in  the  mind,  do  injury  to  government,  and, 
displayed  in  the  government,  are  hurtful  to  the  conduct 
of  affairs.  When  a sage  shall  again  arise,  he  will  cer- 
tainly follow  my  words.” 

On  this , Cho’w  observed,  “ Tsae  Go  and  Tsze-Kung 
were  skillful  in  speaking.  Yen  New,  the  disciple  Min, 
and  Yen  Yuen,  while  their  words  were  good,  were  distin- 
guished for  their  virtuous  conduct.  Confucius  united 
the  qualities  of  the  disciples  in  himself,  but  still  he  said, 
‘ In  the  matter  of  speeches,  I am  not  competent.’  Then, 
Master,  have  you  attained  to  be  a sage  ? ” 

Mencius  said,  “ Oh  ! what  words  were  these  ? For- 
merly, Tsze-Kung  asked  Confucius,  saying,  ‘ Master,  are 
you  a sage  ? ’ Confucius  answered  him,  ‘ A sage  is  what 
I cannot  rise  to.  I learn  without  satiety,  and  teach  with- 
out being  tired.’  Tsze-Kung  said,  ‘ You  learn  without 
satiety  : that  shows  your  wisdom.  You  teach  without 
being  tired  : that  shows  your  benevolence.  Benevolent 
and  wise  : Master,  you  are  a sage  ! ’ Now,  since  Confu- 
cius would  not  have  himself  regarded  a sage,  what  words 
were  those  ? ” 

Cho'w  said,  “ Comparing  Pih-e  and  E-yun  with  Confu- 
cius, are  they  to  be  placed  in  the  same  rank?”  Mencius 
replied,  “ No.  Since  there  were  living  men  until  now, 
there  never  was  another  Confucius.” 

Tsae  Go  said,  “ According  to  my  view  of  our  Master, 
he  is  far  superior  to  Yaou  and  Shun.” 

Tsze-Kung  said,  “ By  viewing  the  ceremonial  ordi- 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


209 


nances  of  a prince , we  know  the  character  of  his  govern- 
ment. By  hearing  his  music,  we  know  the  character  of 
his  virtue.  From  the  distance  of  a hundred  ages  after, 
I can  arrange,  according  to  their  merits,  the  kings  of  a 
hundred  ages  ; not  one  of  them  can  escape  me.  From 
the  birth  of  mankind  till  now,  there  has  never  been  an- 
other like  our  Master.” 

Yew  Go  said,  “ Is  it  only  among  men  that  it  is  so  ? 
There  is  the  K’e-lin  among  quadrupeds ; the  Fung-hwang 
among  birds  ; the  T’ae  mountain  among  mounds  and 
ant-hills,  and  rivers  and  seas  among  rain-pools.  Though 
different  in  degree,  they  are  the  same  in  kind.  So  the 
sages  among  mankind  are  also  the  same  in  kind.  But 
they  stand  out  from  their  fellows,  and  rise  above  the  level, 
and  from  the  birth  of  mankind  till  now,  there  never  has 
been  one  so  complete  as  Confucius.”  * 


* The  K'e  is  properly  the  male,  and  the  tin  the  female  of  the  an- 
mal  referred  to; — a monster  with  a deer’s  body,  an  ox’s  tail,  and  a 
horse’s  feet:  which  appears  to  greet  the  birth  of  a sage,  or  the  reign 
of  a sage  sovereign.  Fung-hwang  is  the  female  of  the  Chinese 
Phoenix,  a fabulous  bird:  the  emperor  is  poetically  called  Fung. 
T'ae  mountain  was  a famous  peak  in  Shan-tung  province. 


2 IO 


MENCIUS. 


THE  ORIGINAL  HEART. 

THE  CHINESE  SAGES’  VIEW  OF  HUMAN  NATURE.  THE 
PRINCIPLE  OF  BENEVOLENCE,  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  PROPRI- 
ETY, AND  KNOWLEDGE  AS  NATURAL  TO  MAN  AS  HIS  FOUR 
LIMBS.  WHEN  A PERSON  BECOMES  BAD,  HE  LOSES  HIS 
ORIGINAL  HEART  ; WHEN  HE  REFORMS,  HE  RECOVERS 
HIS  ORIGINAL  HEART.  THE  CHINESE  TERM  FOR  “CON- 
SCIENCE ” IS  THE  “ ORIGINAL  HEART.” 

Mencius  said,  “ All  men  have  a mind  which  cannot 
bear  to  see  the  sufferings  of  others. 

“ When  I say  that  all  men  have  a mind  which  cannot 
bear  to  see  the  sufferings  of  others,  my  meaning  may  be 
illustrated  thus  : even  now-a-days,  if  men  suddenly  see 
a child  about  to  fall  into  a well,  they  will  without  excep- 
tion experience  a feeling  of  alarm  and  distress.  They 
will  feel  so,  not  as  a ground  on  which  they  may  gain  the 
favor  of  the  child’s  parents,  nor  as  a ground  on  which 
they  may  seek  the  praise  of  their  neighbors  and  friends, 
nor  from  a dislike  to  the  reputation  of  having  been  un- 
moved by  such  a thing. 

“ From  this  case,  we  may  perceive  that  the  feeling  of 
commiseration  is  essential  to  man,  that  the  feeling  of 
shame  and  dislike  is  essential  to  man,  that  the  feeling  of 
modesty  and  complaisance  is  essential  to  man,  and  that 
the  feeling  of  approving  and  disapproving  is  essential  to 
man. 

“ The  feeling  of  commiseration  is  the  principle  of  be- 
nevolence The  feeling  of  shame  and  dislike  is  the 
principle  of  righteousness.  The  feeling  of  modesty  and 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


2 I I 


complaisance  is  the  principle  of  propriety.  The  feeling 
of  approving  and  disapproving  is  the  principle  of  knowl- 
edge. 

“ Men  have  these  four  principles  just  as  they  have 
their  four  limbs.  When  men  having  these  four  princi- 
ples, yet  say  of  themselves  that  they  cannot  develop  than f 
they  play  the  thief  with  themselves  ; and  he  who  says  of 
his  prince  that  he  cannot  develop  them,  plays  the  thief 
with  his  prince. 

“Since  all  men  had  these  four  principles  in  themselves, 
let  them  know  to  give  them  all  their  development  and 
completion,  and  the  issue  will  be  like  that  of  fire  which 
has  begun  to  burn,  or  that  of  a spring  which  has  begun 
to  find  vent.  Let  them  have  their  complete  development, 
and  they  will  suffice  to  love  and  protect  all  within  the 
four  seas.  Let  them  be  denied  that  development,  and 
they  will  not  suffice  for  a man  to  serve  his  parents  with.” 

When  the  duke  Wun  of  T’ang  was  crown  prince,  hav- 
ing  to  go  to  Ts’oo,  he  went  by  way  of  Sung,  and  visited 
Mencius. 

Mencius  discovered  to  him  how  the  nature  of  man  is 
good,  and  when  speaking,  always  made  laudatory  refer- 
ence to  Yaou  and  Shun. 

When  the  crown  prince  was  returning  from  Ts’oo,  he 
again  visited  Mencius.  Mencius  said  to  him,  “ Prince, 
do  you  doubt  my  words?  The  path  is  one  and  only  one.” 

“ Shin  Kan  said  to  the  duke  of  Ts’e,  ‘ They  were  men. 
I am  a man.  Why  should  I stand  in  awe  of  them  ? ’ 
Yen  Yuen  said,  ‘What  kind  of  man  was  Shun?  What 
kind  of  man  am  I ? He  who  exerts  himself  will  also  be- 
come such  as  he  was.’  Kung-ming  E said,  ‘ King  Wun 
is  my  teacher.’  ” 


2X2 


MENCIUS. 


Mencius  said,  “ The  great  man  does  not  think  before- 
hand of  his  words  that  they  may  be  sincere,  nor  of  his 
actions  that  they  may  be  resolute  : he  simply  speaks  and 
does  what  is  right. 

“ The  great  man  is  he  who  does  not  lose  his  child’s 
heart.”* 

The  philosopher  Kaou  said,  “ Man’s  nature  is  like  the 
Ke  willow,  and  righteousness  is  like  a cup  or  a bowl. 
The  fashioning  benevolence  and  righteousness  out  of 
man’s  nature  is  like  the  making  cups  and  bowls  from  the 
Ke  willow.” 

Mencius  replied,  “ Can  you,  leaving  untouched  the 
nature  of  the  willow,  make  with  it  cups  and  bowls  ? You 
must  do  violence  and  injury  to  the  willow,  before  you  can 
make  cups  and  bowls  with  it.  If  you  must  do  violence 
and  injury  to  the  willow  in  order  to  make  cups  and  bowls 
with  it,  on  your  principles  you  must  in  the  same  way  do 
violence  and  injury  to  humanity  in  order  to  fashion  from 
it  benevolence  and  righteousness  ! Your  words,  alas ! 
would  certainly  lead  all  men  on  to  reckon  benevolence 
and  righteousness  to  be  calamities.” 

The  philosopher  Kaou  said,  “ Man's  nature  is  like  wa- 
ter whirling  around  in  a corner.  Open  a passage  for  it 
to  the  east,  and  it  will  flow  to  the  east ; open  a passage 
for  it  to  the  west,  and  it  will  flow  to  the  west.  Man’s  na- 
ture is  indifferent  to  good  and  evil,  just  as  the  water  is 
indifferent  to  the  east  and  west.” 

Mencius  replied,  “ Water  indeed  will plow  indifferently 


* Child’s  heart — the  original  good  heart  with  which,  as  the  Chi- 
nese sages  taught,  every  man  is  born  : unlike  the  doctrine  of  the 
man  of  Nazareth  when  he  was  teaching  Nicodemus. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


2I3 


to  the  east  or  west,  but  will  it  flow  indifferently  up  or 
down  ? The  tendency  of  man’s  nature  to  good  is  like  the 
tendency  of  water  to  flow  downwards.  There  are  none 
but  have  this  tendency  to  good,  just  as  all  water  flows 
downwards. 

“ Now  by  striking  water  and  causing  it  to  leap  up,  you 
may  make  it  go  over  your  forehead,  and,  by  damming  and 
leading  it,  you  may  force  it  up  a hill ; but  are  such  move- 
ments according  to  the  nature  of  water  ? It  is  the  force 
applied  which  causes  them.  When  men  are  made  to  do 
what  is  not  good,  their  nature  is  dealt  with  in  this  way.” 

The  disciple  Ivung-too  said,  “ The  philosopher  Kaou 
says,  ‘ Man's  nature  is  neither  good  nor  bad.’ 

“ Some  say,  ‘ Man’s  nature  may  be  made  to  practice 
good,  and  it  may  be  made  to  practice  evil,  and  accord- 
ingly, under  Wan  and  Woo,  the  people  loved  what  was 
good,  while  under  Yew  and  Le,  they  loved  what  was 
cruel.’ 

“ Some  say,  * The  nature  of  some  is  good,  and  the  na- 
ture of  others  is  bad.’ 

“ And  now  you  say,  ‘ The  nature  is  good.’  Then  are 
all  those  wrong  ? ” 

Mencius  said,  “ From  the  feelings  proper  to  it,  it  is 
constituted  for  the  practice  of  what  is  good.  This  is 
what  I mean  in  saying  that  the  nature  is  good. 

“ If  men  do  what  is  not  good,  the  blame  cannot  be 
imputed  to  their  natural  powers. 

“ The  feeling  of  commiseration  belongs  to  all  men  ; 
so  does  that  of  shame  and  dislike  ; and  that  of  rever- 
ence and  respect ; and  that  of  approving  and  disapprov- 
ing. The  feeling  of  commiseration  implies  the  principle 
of  benevolence  ; that  of  shame  and  dislike,  the  principle 


214 


MENCIUS. 


of  righteousness  ; that  of  reverence  and  respect,  the 
principle  of  propriety  ; and  that  of  approving  and  disap- 
proving, the  principle  of  knowledge.  Benevolence,  right- 
eousness, propriety,  and  knowledge  are  not  infused  into 
us  as  from  without.  We  are  certainly  furnished  with 
them.  And  a different  view  is  simply  from  want  of  re- 
flection. Hence  it  is  said,  ‘ Seek,  and  you  will  find  them. 
Neglect,  and  you  will  lose  them.’  Men  differ  from  one 
another  in  regard  to  them  : some  as  much  again  as  oth- 
ers, some  five  times  as  much,  and  some  to  an  incalcula- 
ble amount : it  is  because  they  cannot  carry  out  fully 
their  natural  powers. 

“ It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry, 

‘ Heaven,  in  producing  mankind, 

Gave  them  their  various  faculties  and  relations  with 
their  specific  laws. 

These  are  the  invariable  rules  of  nature  for  all  to  hold. 
And  all  love  this  admirable  virtue.’  ” 

Confucius  said,  “ The  maker  of  this  ode  knew,  indeed, 
the  principle  of  our  nature  l We  may  thus  see  that 
every  faculty  and  relation  must  have  its  law,  and  since 
there  are  invariable  rules  for  all  to  hold,  they  conse- 
quently love  this  admirable  virtue.” 

Mencius  said,  “ The  trees  of  the  New  mountain  were 
once  beautiful.  Being  situated,  however,  in  the  borders 
of  a large  State,  they  were  hewn  down  with  axes  and 
bills  : and  could  they  retain  their  beauty  ? Still,  through 
the  activity  of  the  vegetative  life  day  and  night,  and  the 
nourishing  influence  of  the  rain  and  dew,  they  were  not 
without  buds  and  sprouts  springing  forth,  but  then  came 
the  cattle  and  goats,  and  browsed  upon  them.  To  these 
things  is  owing  the  bare  and  stript  appearance  of  the 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


2'5 


mountain,  which,  when  people  see,  they  think  it  was 
never  finely  wooded.  But  is  this  the  nature  of  the  moun- 
tain ? 

“ And  so  also  of  what  properly  belongs  to  man  : shall 
it  be  said  that  the  mind  of  any  man  was  without  benev- 
olence and  righteousness  ? The  way  in  which  a man 
loses  his  proper  goodness  of  mind  is  like  the  way  in 
which  the  trees  are  denuded  by  axes  and  bills.  Hewn 
down  day  after  day,  can  it — the  mind — retain  its  beauty  ? 
But  there  is  a development  of  its  life  day  and  night,  and 
in  the  calm  air  of  the  morning,  just  between  night  and 
day,  the  mind  feels  in  a degree  those  desires  and  aver- 
sions which  are  proper  to  humanity,  but  the  feeling  is  not 
strong,  and  it  is  fettered  and  destroyed  by  what  takes 
place  during  the  day.  This  fettering  taking  place  again 
and  again  ; the  restorative  influence  of  the  night  is  not 
sufficient  to  preserve  the  proper  goodness  of  the  mind ; 
and  when  this  proves  insufficient  for  that  purpose,  the 
nature  becomes  not  much  different  from  that  of  the  irra- 
tional animals,  which,  when  people  see,  they  think  that  it 
never  had  those  powers  which  I assert.  But  does  this 
condition  represent  the  feelings  proper  to  humanity  ? 

“ Therefore,  if  it  receive  its  proper  nourishment,  there 
is  nothing  which  will  not  grow.  If  it  lose  its  proper 
nourishment,  there  is  nothing  which  will  not  decay  away.” 

Confucius  said,  “ Hold  it  fast,  and  it  remains  with  you. 
Let  it  go,  and  you  lose  it.  Its  outgoing  and  incoming 
cannot  be  defined  as  to  time  or  place.  It  is  the  mind 
of  which  this  is  said  ! ” 

Mencius  said,  “ Benevolence  is  man’s  mind,  and  right- 
eousness is  man’s  path. 

“ How  lamentable  is  it  to  neglect  the  path,  and  not 


MENCIUS. 


2l6 

pursue  it ; to  lose  this  mind,  and  not  know  how  to  seek 
it  again  ! 

“ When  men’s  fowls  and  dogs  are  lost,  they  know  to 
seek  for  them  again  ; but  they  lose  their  mind,  and  do 
not  know  to  seek  for  it  again. 

“ The  great  end  of  learning  is  nothing  else  but  to  seek 
for  the  lost  mind. 

“ He  who  has  exhausted  all  his  mental  constitution 
knows  his  nature.  Knowing  his  nature,  he  knows 
heaven. 

“To  preserve  one’s  mental  constitution,  and  nourish 
one’s  nature,  is  the  way  to  serve  heaven. 

“ When  neither  a premature  death  nor  long  life  causes 
a man  any  double-mindedness,  but  he  waits  in  the  culti- 
vation of  his  personal  character  for  whatever  issue  : this 
is  the  way  in  which  he  establishes  his  heaven- ordained 
being. 

“ Let  a man  not  do  what  his  owji  sense  of  righteousness 
tells  him  not  to  do,  and  let  him  not  desire  what  his  sense 
of  righteousness  tells  him  not  to  desire  : to  act  thus  is  all 
he  has  to  do. 

“ What  belongs  by  his  nature  to  the  superior  man  can- 
not be  increased  by  the  largeness  of  his  sphere  of  action, 
nor  diminished  by  his  dwelling  in  poverty  and  retirement : 
for  this  reason,  that  it  is  determinately  apportioned  to 
him  by  heaven. 

“ What  belongs  by  his  nature  to  the  superior  man  are 
benevolence,  righteousness,  propriety,  and  knowledge. 
These  are  rooted  in  his  heart ; their  growth  and  mani- 
festation are  a mild  harmony  appearing  in  the  counte- 
nance, a rich  fullness  in  the  back,  and  the  character  im- 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


217 


parted  to  the  four  limbs.  Those  limbs  understand  to 
arrange  themselves , without  being  told. 

“ All  men  have  some  things  which  they  cannot  bear  ; 
extend  that  feeling  to  what  they  can  bear,  and  benevo- 
lence will  be  the  result.  All  men  have  some  things 
which  they  will  not  do  ; extend  that  feeling  to  the  things 
which  they  do,  and  righteousness  will  be  the  result. 

“ If  a man  can  give  full  development  to  the  feeling 
which  makes  him  shrink  from  injuring  others,  his  benevo- 
lence will  be  more  than  can  be  called  into  practice.  If 
he  can  give  full  development  to  the  feeling  which  refuses 
to  break  through,  or  jump  over  a wall,  his  righteousness 
will  be  more  than  can  be  called  into  practice. 

“ If  he  can  give  full  development  to  the  real  feeling  of 
dislike  with  which  he  receives  the  salutation,  ‘ Thou,’ 
‘ Thou,’  he  will  act  righteously  in  all  places  and  circum- 
stances. 

“ When  a scholar  speaks  what  he  ought  not  to  speak, 
by  guile  of  speech  seeking  to  gain  some  end  ; and  when 
he  does  not  speak  what  he  ought  to  speak,  by  guile  of 
silence  seeking  to  gain  some  end  : both  these  cases  are 
of  a piece  with  breaking  through  a neighbor's  wall. 

“ Yaou  and  Shun  were  what  they  were  by  nature  ; 
T’ang  and  Woo  were  so  by  returning  to  natural  virtue. 

“When  all  the  movements  in  the  countenance  and 
every  turn  of  the  body,  are  exactly  what  is  proper,  that 
shows  the  extreme  degree  of  the  complete  virtue.  Weep- 
ing for  the  dead  should  be  from  real  sorrow,  and  not 
because  of  the  living.  The  regular  path  of  virtue  is  to 
be  pursued  without  any  bend,  and  from  no  view  to  emol- 
ument. The  words  should  all  be  necessarily  sincere, 
not  with  any  desire  to  do  what  is  right.” 

10 


2l8 


MENCIUS. 


HEAVEN  DECREES — HEAVEN  DIRECTS. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  right  government  prevails  in 
the  empire,  princes  of  little  virtue  are  submissive  to  those 
of  great  \ and  those  of  little  worth,  to  those  of  great. 
When  bad  government  prevails  in  the  empire,  princes  of 
small  power  are  submissive  to  those  of  great,  and  the 
weak  to  the  strong.  Both  these  cases  are  the  rule  of 
Heaven.  They  who  accord  with  heaven  are  preserved, 
and  they  who  rebel  against  heaven  perish. 

“ That  which  is  done  without  man’s  doing  it,  is  from 
heaven.  That  which  happens  without  man’s  causing  it 
to  happen,  is  from  the  ordinance  of  heaven 

E Yin  said,  “ Heaven’s  plan  in  the  production  of  man- 
kind is  this  : that  they  who  are  first  informed  should 
instruct  those  who  are  later  in  being  informed ; and  they 
who  first  apprehend  principles  should  instruct  those  who 
are  slower  in  doing  so. 

“ There  is  an  appointment  for  everything.  A man 
should  receive  submissively  what  may  be  correctly  as- 
cribed thereto. 

“ Therefore,  he  who  has  the  true  idea  of  what  is  heav- 
en's appointment  will  not  stand  beneath  a precipitous 
wall. 

“ Death  sustained  in  the  discharge  of  one’s  duties  may 
correctly  be  ascribed  to  the  appoinftnent  of  heaven. 

“ Death  under  handcuffs  and  fetters  cannot  correctly 
be  so  ascribed. 

“ The  bodily  organs  with  their  functions  belong  to  our 
heaven-conferred  nature.  But  a man  must  be  a sage  be- 
fore he  can  satisfy  the  design  of  his  bodily  organization. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


219 


HEAVEN  REWARDS  AND  PUNISHES;  THEREFORE,  TO  ESCAPE 

CALAMITIES  EE  ALWAYS  IN  HARMONY  WITH  THE  ORDI- 
NANCES OF  GOD. 

Mencius  said,  “ Calamity  and  happiness  in  all  cases 
are  men’s  own  seeking. 

“ This  is  illustrated  by  what  is  said  in  the  Book  of 
Poetry : 

‘ Be  always  studious  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  ordi- 
nances of  God , 

So  you  will  certainly  get  for  yourself  much  happi- 
ness.’ 

“ 'When  heaven  sends  down  calamities  it  is  still  possi- 
ble to  escape  from  them  ; when  we  occasion  the  calami- 
ties ourselves,  it  is  not  possible  any  longer  to  live. 

“ A man  must  first  despise  himself,  and  then  others 
will  despise  him.  A family  must  first  destroy  itself,  and 
then  others  will  destroy  it.  This  is  illustrated  in  the 
passage  of  the  T’ae  Kea,  ‘ When  Heaven  sends  down 
calamities,  it  is  still  possible  to  escape  them.  When  we 
occasion  the  calamities  ourselves,  it  is  not  possible  any 
longer  to  live.’  ” 


DO  RIGHT.  LEAVE  EVENTS  WITH  HEAVEN. 

Mencius  said,  “If  you  do  good,  among  your  descend- 
ants in  after  generations  there  shall  be  one  who  will 
attain  to  the  Imperial  dignity.  A prince  lays  the  foun- 
dation of  the  inheritance,  and  hands  down  the  beginning 
which  he  has  made , doing  what  may  be  continued  by  his 


220 


MENCIUS. 


successors.  As  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  result, 
that  is  with  heaven.  Be  strong  to  do  good.  That  is  all 
your  business.” 


RELATIVE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THINGS.  LOVE  OF  RIGHTE- 
OUSNESS MORE  THAN  LIFE. 

Mencius  said,  “ I like  fish,  and  I also  like  bears’  paws. 
If  I cannot  have  the  two  together,  I will  let  the  fish  go, 
and  take  the  bears’  paw's.*  So,  I like  life,  and  I also 
like  righteousness.  If  I cannot  keep  the  two  together,  I 
will  let  life  go,  and  choose  righteousness. 

“ I like  life  indeed,  but  there  is  that  which  I like  more 
than  life,  and,  therefore,  I will  not  seek  to  possess  it  by 
any  improper  w'ays.  I dislike  death  indeed,  but  there  is 
that  which  I dislike  more  than  death,  and  therefore  there 
are  occasions  when  I will  not  avoid  danger. 

“ If  among  the  things  which  man  likes  there  were  noth- 
ing which  he  liked  more  than  life,  why  should  he  not  use 
every  means  by  which  he  could  preserve  it  ? If  among 
the  things  which  man  dislikes  there  v'ere  nothing  which 
he  disliked  more  than  death,  why  should  he  not  do  every- 
thing by  which  he  could  avoid  danger  ? 

“ There  are  cases  when  men  by  a certain  course  might 
preserve  life,  when  they  do  not  employ  it ; v'hen  by  cer- 
tain things  they  might  avoid  danger,  and  they  will  not  do 
them. 


* Bears’  palms  have  been  a delicacy  in  China  from  the  earliest 
times.  They  bear  a high  price  in  China.  They  are  valued  because 
they  possess,  as  is  supposed,  qualities  which  may  nourish  man’s 
strength. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


221 


“ Therefore,  men  have  that  which  they  like  more  than 
life,  and  that  which  they  dislike  more  than  death.  They 
are  not  men  of  distinguished  talents  and  virtue  only  who 
have  this  mental  nature.  All  men  have  it ; what  belongs 
to  such  men  is  simply  that  they  do  not  lose  it. 

“ Here  are  a small  basket  of  rice  and  a platter  of  soup, 
and  the  case  is  one  in  which  the  getting  them  will  pre- 
serve life,  and  the  want  of  them  will  be  death  : if  they  are 
offered  with  an  insulting  voice,  even  a tramper  will  not 
receive  them,  or  if  you  first  tread  upon  them,  even  a beg- 
gar will  not  stoop  to  take  them. 

“ Here  is  a man  whose  fourth  finger  is  bent  and  cannot 
be  stretched  out  straight.  It  is  not  painful,  nor  does  it 
incommode  his  business,  and  yet  if  there  be  any  one  who 
can  make  it  straight,  he  will  not  think  the  way  from  Ts’in 
to  Ts’oo  far  to  go  to  him  ; because  his  finger  is  not  like 
the  finger  of  other  people. 

“ When  a man’s  finger  is  not  like  those  of  other  peo- 
ple, he  knows  to  feel  dissatisfied  ; but  if  his  mind  be  not 
like  that  of  other  people,  he  does  not  know  to  feel  dis- 
satisfaction. This  is  called  ‘ Ignorance  of  the  relative 
importance  of  things .’ 

“ There  is  no  part  of  himself  which  a man  does  not 
love,  and  as  he  loves  all,  so  he  must  nourish  all.  There 
is  not  an  inch  of  skin  which  he  does  not  love,  and  so 
there  is  not  an  inch  of  skin  which  he  will  not  nourish. 
For  examining  whether  his  way  of  nourishing  be  good  or 
not,  what  other  rule  is  there  but  this,  that  he  determine 
by  r fleeting  on  himself  where  it  should  be  applied  ? 

“ Some  parts  of  the  body  are  noble,  and  some  are  ig- 
noble ; some  great,  and  some  small.  The  great  must 
not  be  injured  for  the  small,  nor  the  noble  for  the  igno- 


222 


MENCIUS. 


ble.  He  who  nourishes  the  little  belonging  to  him  is  a 
little  man,  and  he  who  nourishes  the  great  is  a great 
man. 

“ He  who  nourishes  one  of  his  fingers,  neglecting  his 
shoulders  or  his  back,  without  knowing  that  he  is  doing 
so,  is  a man  who  resembles  a hurried  wolf. 

“ A man  who  only  eats  and  drinks  is  counted  mean  by 
others  : because  he  nourishes  what  is  little  to  the  neglect 
of  what  is  great. 

“ If  a man ,fond  of  his  eating  and  drinking,  were  not 
to  neglect  what  is  of  more  importance,  how  should  his 
mouth  and  belly  be  considered  as  no  more  than  an  inch 
of  skin  ? ” * 

Shun-yu  K’wan  said,  “ Is  it  the  rule  that  males  and 
females  shall  not  allow  their  hands  to  touch  in  giving  or 
receiving  anything  ? ” Mencius  replied,  “ It  is  the  rule.” 
K'wun  asked,  “ If  a man’s  sister-in-law  be  drowning, 
shall  he  rescue  her  with  his  hands  ? ” Mencius  said, 
“ He  who  would  not  so  rescue  a drowning  woman  is  a 
wolf.  For  males  and  females  not  to  allow  their  hands 
to  touch  in  giving  and  receiving  is  the  general  rule ; when 
a sister-in-law  is  drowning,  to  rescue  her  with  the  hand  is 
a peculiar  exigency.” 

K’wati  said,  “ The  whole  empire  is  drowning.  How 
strange  it  is  that  you  will  not  rescue  it ! ” 

Mencius  answered,  “ A drowning  empire  must  be  res- 


* Our  philosopher  talks  well,  but  how  far  below  the  Teacher  of 
Galilee  when  he  spake  of  the  life  more  than  meat,  and  when  he 
asked,  “ What  will  a man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul  ? ” One 
had  in  view  only  the  life  which  now  is;  the  other,  that  life  which 
lasts  while  the  eternal  years  of  God  endure. 


METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 


223 

cued  with  right  principles,  as  a drowning  sister-in-law 
has  to  be  rescued  with  the  hand.  Do  you  wish  me  to 
rescue  the  empire  with  my  hand  ? ” 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE.  SELFISHNESS  UNPROFITABLE.  HE 
THAT  WOULD  HAVE  FRIENDS  MUST  SHOW  HIMSELF 
FRIENDLY. 

Mencius  said,  “ If  a man  love  others,  and  no  responsive 
attachment  is  shown  to  him,  let  him  turn  inwards  and  ex- 
amine his  own  benevolence.  If  he  is  trying  to  rule  oth- 
ers, and  his  government  is  unsuccessful,  let  him  turn  in- 
wards and  examine  his  wisdom.  If  he  treats  others  po- 
litely, and  they  do  not  return  his  politeness,  let  him  turn 
inward  and  examine  his  own  feeling  of  respect. 

“ When  we  do  not,  by  what  we  do,  realize  what  we  de- 
sire, we  must  turn  inwards,  and  examine  ourselves  in  ev- 
ery point.  When  a man’s  person  is  correct,  the  whole 
empire  will  turn  to  him  with  recognition  and  submission. 

“ It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry,  ‘ Be  always  studious 
to  be  in  harmony  with  the  ordinances  of  God,  and  you 
will  obtain  much  happiness.’  ” * 

Mencius  said  to  the  king  Seuen,  of  Ts’e,  “ When 
the  prince  regards  his  ministers  as  his  hands  and  feet, 
his  ministers  regard  their  prince  as  their  belly  and  heart ; 
when  he  regards  them  as  his  dogs  and  horses,  they  re- 
gard him  as  any  other  man  ; when  he  regards  them  as 


* With  what  measure  a man  meets,  it  will  be  measured  to  him 
again  ; and  consequently,  before  a man  deals  with  others,  expecting 
them  to  be  affected  by  him,  he  should  first  deal  with  himself. 


224 


MENCIUS. 


the  ground  or  as  grass,  they  regard  him  as  a robber  and 
an  enemy. 

“ That  whereby  the  superior  man  is  distinguished  from 
other  men  is  what  he  preserves  in  his  heart  ; namely,  be- 
nevolence and  propriety. 

“ The  benevolent  man  loves  others.  The  man  of  pro- 
priety shows  respect  to  others. 

“ He  who  loves  others  is  constantly  loved  by  them. 
He  who  respects  others  is  constantly  respected  by  them. 

“ Here  is  a man,  who  treats  me  in  a perverse  and  un- 
reasonable manner.  The  superior  man  in  such  a case 
will  turn  round  upon  himself — ‘ I must  have  been  want- 
ing in  benevolence  ; I must  have  been  wanting  in  pro- 
priety : how  should  this  have  happened  to  me  ? ’ 

“ He  examines  himself,  and  is  specially  benevolent. 
He  turns  round  upon  himself,  and  is  specially  observant 
of  propriety.  The  perversity  and  unreasonableness  of 
the  other,  however , are  still  the  same.  The  superior  man 
will  again  turn  round  on  himself — ‘ I must  have  been 
failing  to  do  my  utmost.’ 

“ If  one  acts  with  a vigorous  effort  at  the  law  of  reci- 
procity, when  he  seeks  for  the  realization  of  perfect  virtue, 
nothing  can  be  closer  than  his  approximation  to  it. 

“ The  principle  of  the  philosopher  Yang  was — ‘ Each 
one  for  himself.’  Though  he  might  have  benefited  the 
whole  empire  by  plucking  out  a single  hair,  he  would  not 
have  done  it. 

“ The  philosopher  Mih  loves  all  equally.  If  by  rub- 
bing smooth  his  whole  body  from  the  crown  to  the  heel, 
he  could  have  benefited  the  empire,  he  would  have 
done  it.” 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  HAN. 


225 


CHAPTER  III. 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


THE  SUPERIOR  MAN. 

Mencius  said,  “ The  superior  man  makes  his  advan- 
ces in  what  he  is  learnitig  with  deep  earnestness  and  by 
the  proper  course,  wishing  to  get  hold  of  it  as  in  himself. 
Plaving  got  hold  of  it  in  himself,  he  abides  in  it  calmly 
and  firmly.  Abiding  in  it  calmly  and  firmly,  he  reposes 
a deep  reliance  on  it.  Reposing  a deep  reliance  on  it, 
he  seizes  it  on  the  left  and  right,  meeting  everywhere 
with  it  as  a fountain  from  which  things  flow.  It  is  on 
this  account  that  the  superior  man  wishes  to  get  hold  of 
what  he  is  learning  as  in  himself.”* 

To  dwell  in  the  wide  house  of  the  world,  to  stand  in 
the  correct  seat  of  the  world,  and  to  walk  in  the  great 
path  of  the  world  ; when  he  obtains  his  desire  for  office , 
to  practice  his  principles  for  the  good  of  the  people ; and 


* Understand  the  subject  studied  to  be  man’s  own  self;  some- 
thing belonging  to  Iris  own  nature. 


MENCIUS. 


226 

when  that  desire  is  disappointed,  to  practice  them  alone; 
to  be  above  the  power  of  riches  and  honors  to  make 
dissipated  ; of  pove.rty  and  mean  condition  to  make 
swerve  from  principle,  and  of  power  and  force  to  make 
bend  : these  characteristics  constitute  the  great  man. 

Mencius  said,  “ The  superior  man  has  three  things  in 
which  he  delights,  and  to  be  ruler  over  the  empire  is  not 
one  of  them  : 

“ That  his  father  and  mother  are  both  alive,  and  that 
the  condition  of  his  brothers  affords  no  cause  for  anx- 
iety : this  is  one  delight. 

“ That  when  looking  up,  he  has  no  occasion  for  shame 
before  heaven ; and  below,  he  has  no  occasion  to  blush 
before  men  : this  is  a second  delight. 

“ That  he  can  get  from  the  whole  empire  the  most  tal- 
ented individuals,  and  teach  and  nourish  them : this  is 
the  third  delight. 

“ There  are  five  ways  in  which  the  superior  man  effects 
his  teaching  : 

“ There  are  some  on  whom  his  influence  descends  like 
seasonable  rain. 

“ There  are  some  whose  virtue  he  perfects,  and  some 
of  whose  talents  he  assists  the  development. 

“ There  are  some  whose  inquiries  he  answers. 

“ There  are  some  who  privately  cultivate  and  correct 
themselves. 

“ These  five  ways  are  the  methods  in  which  the  supe- 
rior man  effects  his  teaching.” 

Mencius  said,  “ When  the  superior  men  of  old  had 
errors  they  reformed  them.  The  superior  men  of  the 
present  time,  when  they  have  errors,  persist  in  them. 
The  errors  of  the  superior  men  of  old  were  like  eclipses 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


227 


of  the  sun  and  moon — all  the  people  witnessed  them,  and 
when  they  had  reformed  them,  all  the  people  looked  up 
to  them  with  their  former  admiration.  But  do  the  supe- 
rior men  of  the  present  day  only  persist  in  their  errors  ? 
They  go  on  to  raise  apologizing  discussions  about  them, 
likewise.” 


THE  GOOD  MAN  DELIGHTS  IN  WHAT  IS  GOOD. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  any  one  told  Tsze-loo  that  he 
had  a fault,  he  rejoiced. 

“ When  Yu  heard  good  words,  he  bowed  to  the  speaker. 

“ The  great  Shun  had  a still  greater  delight  in  what 
was  good.  He  regarded  virtue  as  the  common  property 
of  himself  and  others,  giving  up  his  own  way  to  follow 
that  of  others,  and  delighting  to  learn  from  others  to  prac- 
tice what  was  good. 

“From  the  time  when  he  plowed  and  sowed,  exercised 
the  potter’s  art,  and  was  a fisherman,  to  the  time  when 
he  became  emperor,  he  was  continually  learning  from 
others. 

“To  take  example  from  others  to  practice  virtue,  is  to 
help  them  in  the  same  practice.  Therefore,  there  is  no 
attribute  of  the  superior  man  greater  than  his  helping 
man  to  practice  virtue.” 

Haou-sang  Puh-hae  asked,  saying,  “What  sort  of  a 
man  is  Yo-ching  ? ” Mencius  replied,  “ He  is  a good 
man,  a real  man.” 

“ What  do  you  mean  by  ‘ A good  man,  a real  man  ? ” 

The  reply  was,  “ A man  who  commands  our  liking,  is 
what  is  called  a good  man. 


228 


MENCIUS. 


“ He  whose  goodness  is  part  of  himself,  is  what  is  called 
a real  man. 

“ He  whose  goodness  has  been  filled  up,  is  what  is 
called  a beautiful  man. 

“ He  whose  completed  goodness  is  brightly  displayed, 
is  what  is  called  a great  man. 

“ When  this  great  man  exercises  a transforming  influ- 
ence, he  is  what  is  called  a sage. 

“ When  the  sage  is  beyond  our  knowledge,  he  is  what 
is  called  a spirit-man. ” 

Confucius  said,  “ I hate  a semblance  which  is  not  the 
reality.  I hate  the  darnel,  lest  it  be  confounded  with 
the  corn.  I hate  glib-tonguedness,  lest  it  be  confounded 
with  righteousness.  I hate  sharpness  of  tongue,  lest  it 
be  confounded  with  sincerity. 

“ The  superior  man  seeks  simply  to  bring  back  the  un- 
changing standard,  and  that  being  rectified,  the  masses 
are  roused  to  virtue.  When  they  are  so  aroused,  forth- 
with perversities  and  glossed  wickedness  disappear.” 


EDUCATION. 

The  minister  of  agriculture  taught  the  people  to  sow 
and  reap,  cultivating  the  five  kinds  of  grain.  When  the 
five  kinds  of  grain  were  brought  to  maturity,  the  people 
all  enjoyed  a comfortable  subsistence.  Now  men  pos- 
sess a moral  nature  ; but  if  they  are  well  fed,  warmly 
clad,  and  comfortably  lodged,  without  being  taught  at  the 
same  time,  they  become  almost  like  the  beasts.  This 
was  a subject  of  anxious  solicitude  to  the  sage  Shun,  and 
he  appointed  See  to  be  the  minister  of  instruction,  to 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


229 


teach  the  relations  of  humanity  : how,  between  father 
and  son,  there  should  be  affection  ; between  sovereign 
and  minister,  righteousness  ; between  husband  and  wife, 
attention  to  their  separate  functions  ; between  old  and 
young,  a proper  order  ; and  between  friends,  fidelity.* 

The  highly  meritorious  emperor  said  to  him,  “ Encour- 
age them  ; lead  them  on  ; rectify  them  ; straighten  them ; 
help  them  ; give  them  wings  : thus  causing  them  to  be- 
come possessors  of  themselves.  Then  follow  this  up  by 
stimulating  them,  and  conferring  benefits  on  them.” 
When  the  sages  were  exercising  their  solicitude  for  the 
people  in  this  way,  had  they  leisure  to  cultivate  the 
ground  ? f 

The  imparting  by  a man  to  others  of  his  wealth  is 
called  “ a kindness.”  The  teaching  others  what  is  good 
is  called  “ the  exercise  of  fidelity.”  The  finding  a man 
who  shall  benefit  the  empire  is  called  “ benevolence.” 
Hence,  to  give  the  empire  to  another  man  would  be  easy ; 
to  find  a man  who  shall  benefit  the  empire  is  difficult. 

Mencius  said,  “ In  learning  extensively,  and  discussing 
minutely  what  is  learned,  the  object  of  the  superior  man 
is  that  he  may  be  able  to  go  back  and  set  forth  in  brief 
what  is  essential.” 


* These  are  the  five  relations  on  which  much  has  been  written, 
and  which  embody  about  everything  that  the  Chinese  regard  as  the 
Chief  End  of  Man. 

t Here  we  may  trace  the  origin  of  the  system  of  Education  and 
Literary  Examinations  which  has  prevailed  in  China  to  the  present 
time.  There  are  three  advanced  degrees,  and  only  those  who  have 
obtained  these  degrees  are  eligible  respectively  to  the  different 
grades  of  office. 


23° 


MENCIUS. 


KNOWLEDGE  IS  ACQUIRED  BY  SUCCESSIVE  STEPS,  AND  BY 
PERSEVERANCE. 

Mencius  said,  “ Confucius  ascended  the  eastern  hill, 
and  Loo  appeared  to  him  small.  He  ascended  the  T’ae 
mountain,  and  all  beneath  the  heavens  appeared  to  him 
small.  So,  he  who  has  contemplated  the  sea  finds  it  dif- 
ficult to  think  anything  of  other  waters,  and  he  who  has 
wandered  in  the  gate  of  the  sage,  finds  it  difficult  to  think 
anything  of  the  words  of  others* 

“ Flowing  water  is  a thing  which  does  not  proceed  till 
it  has  filled  the  hollows  in  its  course.  The  student  who 
has  set  his  mind  on  the  doctrines  of  the  sage,  does  not 
advance  to  them  but  by  completing  one  lesson  after  an- 
other. 

“ He  who  rises  at  cock-crowing,  and  addresses  him- 
self earnestly  to  the  practice  of  virtue,  is  a disciple  of 
Shun. 

“ He  who  rises  at  cock-crowing,  and  addresses  him- 
self earnestly  to  the  pursuit  of  gain,  is  a disciple  of  Chih. 

“If  you  want  to  know  what  separates  Shun  from  Chih, 
it  is  simply  this:  the  interval  between  the  thought  of  gain. 
and  the  thought  of  virtue. 

“ A man  with  definite  aims  to  be  accomplished  may  be 
compared  to  one  digging  a well.  To  dig  the  well  to  a 
depth  of  seventy-two  cubits,  and  stop  without  reaching 
the  spring,  is  after  all  throwing  away  the  well.”  t 


* The  T’ae  mountain  is  the  chief  of  the  five  great  mountains  of 
China.  It  lay  on  the  extreme  east  of  T’se,  in  the  present  district 
of  T’ae-ngan. 

t That  labor  only  is  to  be  prized  which  accomplishes  the  object. 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


231 


Kung-sun  Ch’ovv  said,  “ Lofty  are  your  principles  and 
admirable,  but  to  leant  them  may  well  be  likened  to  as- 
cending the  heavens — something  which  cannot  be  reach- 
ed. Why  not  adapt  your  teaching  so  as  to  cause  learners  to 
consider  them  attainable,  and  so  daily  exert  themselves.” 

Mencius  said,  “ A great  artificer  does  not,  for  the  sake 
of  a stupid  workman,  alter  or  do  away  with  the  marking 
line.  E did  not,  for  the  sake  of  a stupid  archer,  change 
his  rule  for  drawing  the  bow. 

“ The  superior  man  draws  the  bow,  but  does  not  dis- 
charge the  arrow.  The  whole  thing  seems  to  leap  before 
the  learner.  Such  is  his  standing  exactly  in  the  middle 
of  the  right  path.  Those  who  are  able,  follow  him. 

“ A carpenter  or  a carriage-maker  may  give  a man  the 
circle  and  square,  but  cannot  make  him  skillful  in  the  use 
of  them." 

Mencius  said,  “ Is  the  arrow-maker  less  benevolent 
than  the  maker  of  armor  of  defense  ? And  yet,  the  ar- 
row-maker’s only  fear  is  lest  men  shall  not  be  hurt,  and 
the  armor-maker’s  only  fear  is  lest  men  should  be  hurt. 
So  it  is  with  the  priest  and  the  coffin-maker.  The  choice 
of  a profession,  therefore,  is  a thing  in  which  great  cau- 
tion is  required.” 


DILIGENCE  AND  FIDELITY  THE  WAY  TO  PREFERMENT. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  those  occupying  inferior  situa- 
tions do  not  obtain  the  confidence  of  the  sovereign,  they 
cannot  succeed  in  governing  the  people.  There  is  a way 
to  obtain  the  confidence  of  the  sovereign  : if  one  is  not 
trusted  by  his  friends,  he  will  not  obtain  the  confidence 


232 


MENCIUS. 


of  his  sovereign.  There  is  a way  of  being  trusted  by 
one’s  friends  : if  one  do  not  serve  his  parents  so  as  to 
make  them  pleased,  he  will  not  be  trusted  by  his  friends. 
There  is  a way  to  make  one’s  parents  pleased  : if  one, 
on  turning  his  thoughts  inward,  finds  a want  of  sincer- 
ity, he  will  not  give  pleasure  to  his  parents.  There  is  a 
way  to  the  attainment  of  sincerity  in  one’s  self : if  a man 
do  not  understand  what  is  good,  he  will  not  attain  sincer- 
ity in  himself. 

“ Therefore,  sincerity  is  the  way  of  heaven.  To  think 
how  to  be  sincere  is  the  way  of  man. 

“ Never  has  there  been  one  possessed  of  complete  sin- 
cerity, who  did  not  move  others.  Never  has  there  been 
one  who  had  not  sincerity  who  was  able  to  move  others. 

“ Confucius  was  once  keeper  of  stores,  and  he  then 
said,  * My  calculations  must  all  be  right.  That  is  all  I 
have  to  care  about.’  He  was  once  in  charge  of  the  pub- 
lic fields,  and  he  then  said,  ‘ The  oxen  and  sheep  must 
be  fat,  and  strong,  and  superior.  That  is  all  I have  to 
care  about.’* 

“ When  one  is  in  a low  situation,  to  speak  of  high  mat- 
ters is  a crime.  When  a scholar  stands  in  a prince’s 
court,  and  his  principles  are  not  carried  into  practice,  it 
is  a shame  to  him.” 

Kung-sun  Ch’ow  said,  “ It  is  said,  in  the  Book  of  Poe- 
try, 

“ ‘ He  will  not  eat  the  bread  of  idleness  ! ’ 

“ How  is  it  that  we  see  superior  men  eating  without 


* Be  content  with  your  condition,  and  perform  well  the  duties 
belonging  to  it.  Be  faithful  in  a few  things,  and  you  may  be  made 
ruler  over  many  things. 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 


233 


laboring  ? ” Mencius  replied,  “ When  a superior  man 
resides  in  a country,  if  its  sovereign  employ  his  counsels, 
he  comes  to  tranquillity,  wealth,  honor,  and  glory.  If  the 
young  in  it  follow  his  instructions,  they  become  filial, 
obedient  to  their  elders,  true-hearted,  and  faithful.  What 
greater  example  can  there  be  than  this  of  not  eating  the 
bread  of  idleness  ? 

“ The  people  are  the  most  important  element  iti  a na- 
tion ; the  spirits  of  the  land  and  grain  are  the  next  ; the 
sovereign  is  the  lightest. 

“ Therefore,  to  gain  the  peasantry  is  the  way  to  be- 
come emperor ; to  gain  the  emperor  is  the  way  to  become 
a prince  of  a State  ; to  gain  the  prince  of  a State  is  the 
way  to  become  a great  officer.” 


TRIALS  AND  HARDSHIPS  PREPARE  FOR  GREAT  SERVICES. 

Mencius  said,  “ Shun  rose  from  among  the  channeled 
fields.  Foo  Yue  was  called  to  office  from  the  midst  of 
his  building  frames  ; Kaou-Kih  from  his  fish  and  salt ; 
Kwan  E-woo  from  the  hands  of  his  gaoler  ■ Sun-shuh 
Gaou  from  his  hiding  by  the  seashore  ; and  Pih-le  He 
from  the  market-place. 

“ Thus,  when  heaven  is  about  to  confer  a great  office 
on  any  man,  it  first  exercises  his  mind  with  suffering,  and 
his  sinews  and  bones  with  toil.  It  exposes  his  body  to 
hunger,  and  subjects  him  to  extreme  poverty.  It  con- 
founds his  undertakings.  By  all  these  methods  it  stim- 
ulates his  mind,  hardens  his  nature,  and  supplies  his  in- 
competencies. 

“ Men  for  the  most  part  err,  and  are  afterwards  able 


234 


MENCIUS. 


to  reform.  They  are  distressed  in  mind  and  perplexed 
in  their  thoughts,  and  then  they  arise  to  vigorous  reform- 
ation. When  things  have  been  evidenced  in  men’s  looks, 
and  set  forth  in  their  words,  then  they  understand  them. 

“ If  a prince  have  not  about  his  court  families  attached 
to  the  laws  and  worthy  counselors,  and  if  abroad  there 
are  not  hostile  States  or  other  external  calamities,  his 
kingdom  will  generally  come  to  ruin. 

“ From  these  things  we  see  how  life  springs  from  sor- 
row and  calamity,  and  death  from  ease  and  pleasure.” 


UNMERITED  FAME  NOT  LASTING. 

The  disciple  Seu  said,  “ Chung-ne  often  praised  water, 
saying,  ‘ O water  ! O water  ! ’ What  did  he  find  in  wa- 
ter to  praise  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ There  is  a spring  of  water ; how  it 
gushes  out ! It  rests  not  day  nor  night.  It  fills  up  every 
hole,  and  then  advances,  flowing  on  to  the  four  seas. 
Such  is  water  having  a spring  ! It  was  this  which  he 
found  in  it  to  praise. 

“ But  suppose  that  the  water  has  no  spring.  In  the 
seventh  and  eighth  months,  when  the  rain  falls  abund- 
antly, the  channels  in  the  fields  are  all  filled,  but  their 
being  dried  up  again  may  be  expected  in  a short  time. 
So  a superior  man  is  ashamed  of  a reputation  beyond 
his  merits.” 

A man  of  Ts’e  had  a wife  and  a concubine,  and  lived 
together  with  them  in  his  house.  When  their  husband 
went  out,  he  would  get  himself  well  filled  with  wine  and 
flesh,  and  then  returned,  and  on  his  wife’s  asking  him 


IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN.  J 

with  whom  he  ate  and  drank,  they  were  sure  to  be  all 
wealthy  and  honorable  people.  The  wife  informed  the 
concubine,  saying,  “ When  our  good  man  goes  out,  he  is 
sure  to  come  back  having  partaken  plentifully  of  wine 
and  flesh.  I asked  with  whom  he  ate  and  drank,  and 
they  are  all,  it  seems,  wealthy  and  honorable  people, 
and  yet  no  people  of  distinction  ever  come  here.  I will 
spy  out  where  our  good  man  goes.”  Accordingly,  she 
got  up  early  in  the  morning,  and  privately  followed 
wherever  her  husband  went.  Throughout  the  whole  city 
there  was  no  one  who  stood  or  talked  with  him.  At 
last  he  came  to  those  who  were  sacrificing  among  the 
tombs,  beyond  the  outer  wall,  on  the  east,  and  begged 
what  they  had  over.  Not  being  satisfied,  he  looked 
about,  and  went  to  another  party  : and  this  was  the  way 
in  which  he  got  himself  satiated.  His  wife  returned, 
and  informed  the  concubine,  saying,  “ It  was  to  our  hus- 
band that  we  looked  up  in  hopeful  contemplation,  with 
whom  our  lot  is  cast  for  life ; and  now  these  are  his 
ways  !”  On  this,  along  with  the  concubine,  she  reviled 
their  husband,  and  they  wept  together  in  the  middle 
hall.  In  the  meantime,  the  husband,  knowing  nothing 
of  all  this,  came  in  with  a jaunty  air,  carrying  himself 
proudly  to  his  wife  and  concubine. 

In  the  view  of  a superior  man,  as  to  the  ways  by  which 
men  seek  for  riches,  honors,  gain,  and  advancement, 
there  are  few  of  their  wives  and  concubines  who  would 
not  be  ashamed  and  weep  together  on  account  of  them. 


236 


THENCIUS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


ON  SELECTING  A RESIDENCE,  AND  CHOICE  OF  ASSOCIATES. 

Confucius  said,  “ It  is  virtuous  manners  which  consti- 
tute the  excellence  of  a neighborhood.  If  a man,  in  se- 
lecting a residence,  do  not  fix  on  one  where  such  prevail, 
how  can  he  be  wise  ? Now,  benevolence  is  the  most 
honorable  dignity  conferred  by  Heaven,  and  the  quiet 
home  in  which  man  should  dwell.  Since  no  one  can 
hinder  us  from  being  so,  if  yet  we  are  not  benevolent, 
this  is  being  not  wise.” 

Wan  Chang  asked  Mencius , saying,  “ Some  say  that 
Confucius,  when  he  was  in  Wei,  lived  with  the  ulcer 
doctor,  and  when  he  was  in  Ts’e  with  the  attendant 
Tseih  Hwan : was  it  so  ?”  Mencius  replied,  “ No  ; it 
was  not  so.  Those  are  the  inventions  of  men  fond  of 
strange  things. 

“Confucius  went  into  office  according  to  propriety, 
and  retired  from  it  according  to  righteousness.  In  re- 
gard to  his  obtaining  office  or  not  obtaining  it,  he  said, 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


2J7 


‘ That  is  as  ordered.’  But  if  he  had  lodged  with  the  at- 
tendant Tseih  Hwan,  that  would  neither  have  been  ac- 
cording to  righteousness  nor  any  ordering  of  Heaven. 

“ When  Confucius,  being  dissatisfied  in  Loo  and  Wei, 
had  left  those  States,  he  met  with  the  attempt  of  Hwan, 
the  master  of  the  horse  of  Sung,  to  intercept  and  kill 
him.  At  that  time,  though  he  was  in  circumstances  of 
distress,  he  lodged  with  the  city-master  Ching,  who  was 
then  a minister  of  Chow,  the  prince  of  Ch’in. 

“ I have  heard  that  the  characters  of  ministers  about 
court  may  be  discerned  from  those  whom  they  entertain, 
and  those  of  stranger  officers  from  those  with  whom 
they  lodge.  If  Confucius  had  lodged  with  the  ulcer- 
doctor  and  with  the  attendant  Tseih  Hwan,  how  could 
he  have  been  Confucius  ?” 

Mencius  said,  “ Pih-e  would  not  allow  his  eyes  to  look 
on  a bad  sight,  nor  his  ears  to  listen  to  a bad  sound. 
He  would  not  serve  a prince  whom  he  did  not  approve, 
nor  command  a people  whom  he  did  not  esteem.  In  a 
time  of  good  government  he  took  office  ; and  on  the  occur- 
rence of  confusion,  he  retired.  He  could  not  bear  to 
dwell  either  in  a court  from  which  a lawless  government 
emanated,  or  among  lawless  people.  He  considered  his 
being  in  the  same  place  with  a villager,  as  if  he  were  to 
sit  amid  mud  and  coals  with  his  court  robes  and  court 
cap.  In  the  time  of  Chow,  he  dwelt  on  the  shores  of 
the  North  sea,  awaiting  the  purification  of  the  empire. 
Therefore,  when  men  now  hear  the  character  of  Pih-e, 
the  corrupt  become  pure,  and  the  weak  acquire  deter- 
mination.” 

E Yin  said,  “ Hwuy  of  Lew-hea  was  not  ashamed  to 
serve  an  impure  prince,  nor  did  he  think  it  low  to  be  an 


2.^8 


MENCIUS. 


inferior  officer.  When  advanced  to  employment,  he  did 
not  conceal  his  virtue,  but  made  it  a point  to  carry  out 
his  principles.  When  dismissed  and  left  without  office, 
he  yet  did  not  murmur.  When  straitened  by  poverty, 
lie  yet  did  not  grieve.  When  thrown  into  the  company 
of  village  people,  he  was  quite  at  ease,  and  could  not 
bear  to  leave  them.  He  had  a saying,  ‘ You  are  you,  and 
I am  I.  Although  you  stand  by  my  side  with  breast  and 
arms  bare,  or  with  your  body  naked,  how  can  you  defile 
me  ?’  Therefore  when  men  now  hear  the  character  of 
Hwuy  of  Lew-hea,  the  mean  become  generous,  and  the 
niggardly  become  liberal. 

“As  to  Confucius,  when  it  was  proper  to  go  away 
quickly,  he  did  so ; when  it  was  proper  to  delay,  he  did 
so  ; when  it  was  proper  to  keep  in  retirement,  he  did  so  ; 
when  it  was  proper  to  go  into  office,  he  did  so  : this  was 
Confucius.”  * 

Mencius  said,  “ Pih-e  among  the  sages  was  the  pure 
one ; E Yin  was  the  one  most  inclined  to  take  office ; 
Hwuy  of  Lew-hea  was  the  accommodating  one,  and 
Confucius  was  the  timeous  one. 

“ In  Confucius  we  have  what  is  called  a complete  con- 
cert. A complete  concert  is  w’hen  the  large  bell  pro- 
claims the  commencement  of  the  music , and  the  ringing 
stone  proclaims  its  close.  The  metal  sound  commences 
the  blended  harmony  of  all  the  instruments,  and  the 
winding  up  writh  the  stone  terminates  that  blended  har- 
mony. The  commencing  that  harmony  is  the  work  of 
wisdom.  The  terminating  it  is  the  work  of  sageness. 

As  a comparison  for  wisdom,  we  may  liken  it  to  skill, 


* Confucius  did  at  every  time  what  the  circumstances  required. 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


2.39 


and  as  a comparison  for  sageness,  we  may  liken  it  to 
strength  : as  in  the  case  of  shooting  at  a mark  a thou- 
sand paces  distant.  That  you  reach  it  is  owing  to  your 
strength,  but  that  you  hit  the  mark  is  not  owing  to  your 
strength.” 

Wan  Chang  asked  Mencius , saying,  “ I venture  to  ask 
the  principles  of  friendship.”  Mencius  replied,  “ Friend- 
ship should  be  maintained  without  any  presumption  on 
the  ground  of  one’s  superior  age,  or  station,  or  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  relatives.  Friendship  with  a man  is 
friendship  with  his  virtue,  and  does  not  admit  of  assump- 
tions of  superiority. 

“ Respect  shown  by  inferiors  to  superiors  is  called 
giving  to  the  noble  the  observance  due  to  rank.  Re- 
spect shown  by  superiors  to  inferiors  is  called  giving 
honor  to  talents  and  virtue.  The  rightness  in  each  case 
is  the  same. 

“In  regard  to  inferior  creatures,  the  superior  man  is 
kind  to  them,  but  not  loving.  In  regard  to  people  gen- 
erally, he  is  loving  to  them,  but  not  affectionate.  He  is 
affectionate  to  his  parents,  and  lovingly  disposed  to  peo- 
ple generally.  He  is  lovingly  disposed  to  people  gener- 
ally, and  kind  to  creatures. 

“ The  wise  embrace  all  knowledge,  but  they  are  most 
earnest  about  what  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  The 
benevolent  embrace  all  in  their  love,  but  what  they  con- 
sider of  the  greatest  importance  is,  to  cultivate  an  earn- 
est affection  for  the  virtuous.” 


MENCIUS. 


?4  O 


PARENTAL  GOVERNMENT. 

Kung-sun  Ch’ow  said,  “ Why  is  it  that  the  superior 
man  does  not  himself  teach  his  son  ? ” 

Mencius  replied,  “ The  circumstances  of  the  case  for- 
bid its  being  done.  The  teacher  must  inculcate  what  is 
correct.  When  he  inculcates  what  is  correct,  and  his 
lessons  are  not  practiced,  he  follows  them  up  with  being 
angry.  When  he  follows  them  up  with  being  angry, 
then,  contrary  to  what  should  be,  he  is  offended  with  his 
son.  At  the  same  time , the  pupil  says,  ‘ My  master  incul- 
cates on  me  what  is  correct,  and  he  himself  does  not 
proceed  in  a correct  path.’  The  result  of  this  is,  that 
father  and  son  are  offended  with  each  other.  When 
father  and  son  come  to  be  offended  with  each  other,  the 
case  is  evil. 

“ The  ancients  exchanged  sons,  and  one  taught  the 
son  of  another. 

“ Between  father  and  son  there  should  be  no  reprov- 
ing admonitions  to  what  is  good.  Such  reproofs  lead  to 
alienation,  and  than  alienation  there  is  nothing  more  in- 
auspicious.” 

“ Mencius  said,  ‘ Those  who  keep  the  Mean,  train  up 
those  who  do  not,  and  those  who  have  abilities,  train  up 
those  who  have  not ; and  hence  men  rejoice  in  having 
fathers  and  elder  brothers  who  are  possessed  of  virtue 
and  talent.  If  they  who  keep  the  Mean  spurn  those  who 
do  not,  and  they  who  have  abilities  spurn  those  who  have 
not,  then  the  space  between  them — those  so  gifted  and 
the  ungifted — will  not  admit  an  inch.” 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


241 


FILIAL  AND  FRATERNAL  DUTIES. 

Mencius  said,  “ There  are  three  things  which  are  uiv 
filial,  and  to  have  no  posterity  is  the  greatest  of  them.* 

“ The  richest  fruit  of  benevolence  is  this  : the  service 
of  one’s  parents.  The  richest  fruit  of  righteousness  is 
this  : the  obeying  one’s  elder  brothers. 

“ The  richest  fruit  of  wisdom  is  this  : the  knowing 
those  two  things,  and  not  departing  from  them.  The 
richest  fruit  of  propriety  is  this  : the  ordering  and  adorn- 
ing those  two  things.  The  richest  fruit  of  music  is  this  : 
the  rejoicing  in  those  two  things.  When  they  are  rejoiced 
in,  they  grow.  Growing,  how  can  they  be  repressed  ? 
When  they  come  to  this  state  that  they  cannot  be  re- 
pressed, then  unconsciously  the  feet  begin  to  dance  and 
the  hands  to  move. 

“ There  are  five  things  which  are  said  in  the  common 
practice  of  the  age  to  be  unfilial.  The  first  is  laziness 
in  the  use  of  one’s  four  limbs,  without  attending  to  the 
nourishment  of  his  parents.  The  second  is  gambling 
and  chess-playing,  and  being  fond  of  wine,  without  at- 
tending to  the  nourishment  of  his  parents.  The  third  is 
being  fond  of  goods  and  money,  and  selfishly  attached 
to  his  wife  and  children,  without  attending  to  the  nour- 
ishment of  his  parents.  The  fourth  is  following  the  de- 
sires of  one’s  ears  and  eyes,  so  as  to  bring  his  parents 


* To  be  without  posterity  is  the  greatest  fault,  because  it  is  an 
offense  against  the  whole  line  of  ancestors,  and  terminates  the  sac- 
rifices to  them.  This  accounts  for  the  early  attention  and  care  on 
the  part  of  parents  in  securing  wives  for  their  sons,  and  for  the 
strong  desire  for  the  birth  of  sons  and  grandsons. 


242 


MENCIUS. 


to  disgrace.  The  fifth  is  being  fond  of  bravery,  fighting 
and  quarreling  so  as  to  endanger  his  parents.  Is  Chang 
guilty  of  any  of  these  things  ? 

“ Now  between  Chang  and  his  father  there  arose  disa- 
greements, he,  the  son,  reproving  his  father,  to  urge  him 
to  what  was  good. 

“To  urge  one  another  to  what  is  good  by  reproofs  is 
the  way  of  friends.  But  such  urging  between  father  and 
son  is  the  greatest  injury  to  the  kindness  which  should 
prevail  between  them." 

Wan-chang  said,  “ When  his  parents  love  him,  a son 
rejoices  and  forgets  them  not.  When  his  parents  hate 
him,  though  they  punish  him,  he  does  not  murmur.” 

Mencius  said,  “ The  desire  of  the  child  is  towards  his 
father  and  mother.  When  he  becomes  conscious  of  the 
attractions  of  beauty,  his  desire  is  towards  young  and 
beautiful  women.  When  he  comes  to  have  a wife  and 
children,  his  desire  is  towards  them.  When  he  obtains 
office,  his  desire  is  towards  his  sovereign  : if  he  cannot 
get  the  regard  of  his  sovereign,  he  burns  within.  But 
the  man  of  great  filial  piety,  to  the  end  of  his  life,  has 
his  desire  towards  his  parents.  In  the  great  Shun  I see 
the  case  of  one  whose  desire  at  fifty  years  was  towards 
them.” 


ON  ESPOUSALS. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  a son  is  born,  what  is  desired 
for  him  is  that  he  may  have  a wife  ; when  a daughter  is 
born,  what  is  desired  for  her  is  that  she  may  have  a hus- 
band. This  feeling  of  the  parents  is  possessed  by  all 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


243 


men.  If  the  young  people,  without  waiting  for  the  orders 
of  their  parents  and  the  arrangements  of  the  go-betweens, 
shall  bore  holes  to  steal  a sight  of  each  other,  or  get  over 
the  wall  to  be  with  each  other,  then  their  parents  and  all 
other  people  will  despise  them.”  * 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry, 

“ In  marrying  a wife,  how  ought  a man  to  proceed  ? 
He  must  inform  his  parents.” 

Mencius  said,  “ That  male  and  female  should  dwell 
together  is  the  greatest  of  human  relations.” 


MARRIAGE  RITES,  WOMAN’S  DUTIES,  COURT  ETIQUETTE. 

Mencius  said,  “ Have  you  not  read  the  Ritual  Usages  ? 
‘ At  the  capping  of  a young  man,  his  father  admonishes 
him.  At  the  marriage  of  a young  woman,  her  mother 
admonishes  her,  accompanying  her  to  the  door  on  her 
leaving,  and  cautioning  her  with  these  words  : You  are 
going  to  your  home.  You  must  be  respectful ; you  must  be 
careful.  Do  not  disobey  your  husband.'  Thus,  to  look 
upon  compliance  as  their  correct  course  is  the  rule  for 
women.” 


* The  bridegroom  is  supposed  not  to  see  the  bride  till  after  the 
marriage  has  been  consummated,  though  they  do  in  many  cases 
contrive  some  way  “to  steal  a sight.”  The  arrangements  are  usu- 
ally made  by  professional  persons,  called  “go-betweens;  ” they  are 
marriage  brokers;  but  parents  often  betroth  their  own  children 
without  the  intervention  of  the  “ middle  men,”  and  that,  too,  some- 
times while  they  are  in  infancy. 

t To  be  respectful  and  careful,  to  comply  and  obey,  is  woman’s 
place  as  taught  and  practiced  in  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

On  the  morning  of  the  wedding,  or  a day  or  two  previous,  the 


244 


MENCIUS. 


It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Rites,  “ A prince  ploughs 
himself,  and  is  assisted  by  the  people , to  supply  the  millet 
for  sacrifice.  His  wife  keeps  silkworms,  and  unwinds 
their  cocoons,  to  make  the  garments  for  sacrifice.  If  the 
victims  be  not  perfect,  the  millet  not  pure,  and  the  dress 
not  complete,  he  does  not  presume  to  sacrifice.  And 
the  scholar  who,  out  ofi  office,  has  no  holy  field,  in  the 
same  way  does  not  sacrifice.  The  victims  for  slaughter, 
the  vessels,  and  the  garments,  not  being  all  complete,  he 
does  not  presume  to  sacrifice,  and  then  neither  may  he 
dare  to  feel  happy.”  Is  there  not  here  sufficient  ground 
also  for  condolence  ? 

According  to  the  prescribed  rules,  in  the  court,  indi- 
viduals may  not  change  their  places  to  speak  with  one 
another,  nor  may  they  pass  from  their  ranks  to  bow  to 
one  another. 


father  of  the  young  man  who  is  about  to  be  married,  in  the  great 
hall  of  the  house  and  in  presence  of  guests,  formally  places  a cap 
upon  his  head  (the  son  kneeling)  in  token  of  his  being  about  to 
pass  into  manhood  ; the  father  also  gives  him  a new  name.  The 
son  still  kneeling,  the  father  delivers  to  him  a short  address  con- 
cerning the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  new  relations  ; and 
the  son,  having  promised  to  observe  the  duties,  is  permitted  to 
arise. 

On  the  marriage  day,  the  mother,  after  her  farewell  instructions, 
places  her  daughter  in  the  sedan  chair  which  is  waiting  at  the  door; 
the  mother  retires  into  her  house  weeping,  and  the  procession 
moves  off  to  the  house  of  the  bridegroom  with  the  weeping  bride 
locked  up  alone  in  the  sedan. 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


245 


BURIAL  RITES. 

Mencius  went  from  Ts’e  to  Loo  to  bury  his  mother.  On 
his  return  to  Ts’e,  he  stopped  at  Ying,  where  Ch’ung 
Yu  begged  to  put  a question  to  him,  and  said,  “ Former- 
ly, in  ignorance  of  my  incompetency,  you  employed  me 
to  superintend  the  making  of  a coffin.  As  you  were  then 
pressed  by  the  urgency  of  the  business,  I did  not  venture  to 
put  any  question  to  you.  Now,  however,  I wish  to  take 
the  liberty  to  submit  the  matter.  The  wood  of  the  cof- 
fin, it  appeared  to  me,  was  too  good.” 

Mencius  replied,  “ Anciently,  there  was  no  rule  for 
the  size  of  either  the  inner  or  the  outer  coffin.  In  mid- 
dle antiquity,  the  inner  coffin  was  made  seven  inches 
thick,  and  the  outer  one  the  same.  This  was  done  by  all, 
from  the  emperor  to  the  common  people,  and  not  simply 
for  the  beauty  of  the  appearance,  but  because  they  thus 
satisfied  the  natural  feelings  of  their  hearts. 

“ If  prevented  by  statutory  regulations  from  making 
their  coffins  in  this  way,  men  cannot  have  the  feeling  of 
pleasure.  If  they  have  not  the  money  to  make  them  in 
this  way,  they  cannot  have  the  feeling  of  pleasure.  When 
they  were  not  prevented,  and  had  the  money,  the  an- 
cients all  used  this  style.  Why  should  I alone  not  do 
so  ? 

“ And  moreover,  is  there  no  satisfaction  to  the  natural 
feelings  of  a man,  in  preventing  the  earth  from  getting 
near  to  the  bodies  of  his  dead  ? 

“ I have  heard  that  the  superior  man  will  not  for  all 
the  world  be  niggardly  to  his  parents. 

“ In  the  most  ancient  times,  there  were  some  who  did 


246 


MENCIUS. 


not  inter  their  parents.  When  their  parents  died,  they 
took  them  up  and  threw  them  into  some  water-channel. 
Afterwards,  when  passing  by  them,  they  sazu  foxes  and 
wildcats  devouring  them,  and  flies  and  gnats  biting  at 
them.  The  perspiration  started  out  upon  their  fore- 
heads, and  they  looked  away,  unable  to  bear  the  sight. 
It  was  not  on  account  of  other  people  that  this  perspira- 
tion flowed.  The  emotions  of  their  hearts  affected  their 
faces  and  eyes,  and  instantly  they  went  home,  and  came 
back  with  baskets  and  spades  and  covered  the  bodies. 
If  the  covering  them  thus  was  indeed  right,  you  may  see 
that  the  filial  son  and  virtuous  man,  in  interring  in  a 
handsome  manner  their  parents,  act  according  to  a proper 
rule.” 


MOURNING  FOR  PARENTS — THE  TIME  AND  CEREMONIES. 

When  the  duke  Ting,  of  T’ang,  died,  the  crown  prince 
said  to  Yen  Yew,  “ Formerly,  Mencius  spoke  with  me  in 
Sung,  and  in  my  mind  I have  never  forgotten  his  zvords. 
Now,  alas  ! this  great  duty  to  my  father  devolves  upon 
me ; I wish  to  send  you  to  ask  the  advice  of  Mencius, 
and  then  to  proceed  to  its  various  services.” 

Yen  Yew  accordmgly  proceeded  to  Tsow,  and  consulted 
Mencius.  Mencius  said,  “ Is  this  not  good  ? In  discharg- 
ing the  funeral  duties  to  parents,  men  indeed  feel  con- 
strained to  do  their  utmost.”  The  philosopher  Tsang 
said,  “ When  parents  are  alive,  they  should  be  served  ac- 
cording to  propriety  ; when  they  are  dead,  they  should 
be  buried  according  to  propriety ; and  they  should  be 
sacrificed  to  according  to  propriety:  this  may  be  called 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


247 


filial  piety.  The  ceremonies  to  be  observed  by  the  princes 
I have  not  learned,  but  I have  heard  these  points : that 
the  three  years’  mourning,  the  garment  of  coarse  cloth 
with  its  lower  edge  even,  and  the  eating  of  congee,  were 
equally  prescribed  by  the  three  dynasties,  and  binding 
on  all,  from  the  emperor  to  the  mass  of  the  people.” 

Yen  Yew  reported  the  execution  of  his  commission, 
and  the  prince  determined  that  the  three  years’  mourning 
should  be  observed.  His  aged  relatives,  and  the  body 
of  the  officers,  did  not  wish  that  it  should  be  so,  and  said, 
“ The  former  princes  of  Loo,  that  kingdom  which  we 
honor,  have  none  of  them  observed  this  practice,  nei- 
ther have  any  of  our  own  former  princes  observed  it. 
For  you  to  act  contrary  to  their  example  is  not  proper. 
Moreover,  the  History  says,  ‘In  the  observances  of 
mourning  and  sacrifice,  ancestors  are  to  be  followed,’ 
meaning  that  they  received  those  things  from  a proper 
source  to  hand  them  down.” 

The  prince  said  again  to  Yen  Yew,  “ Hitherto,  I have 
not  given  myself  to  the  pursuit  of  learning,  but  have  found 
my  pleasure  in  horsemanship  and  sword  exercise,  and 
now  I don’t  come  up  to  the  wishes  of  my  aged  relatives 
and  the  officers.  I am  afraid  I may  not  be  able  to  dis- 
charge my  duty  in  the  great  business  that  I have  entered 
on;  do  you  again . consult  Mencius  for  me.”  On  this , 
Yen  Yew  went  again  to  Tsow,  and  consulted  Mencius. 
Mencius  said,  “ It  is  so,  but  he  may  not  seek  a remedy  in 
others,  but  only  in  himself.  Confucius  said,  ‘ When  a prince 
dies,  his  successor  intrusts  the  administration  to  the 
prime  minister.  He  sips  the  congee.  His  face  is  of  a 
deep  black.  He  approaches  the  place  of  mourning,  and 
weeps.  Of  all  the  officers  and  inferior  ministers  there  is 


248 


MENCIUS. 


not  one  who  will  presume  not  to  join  in  the  lamentation, 
he  setting  them  this  example.  What  the  superior  loves, 
his  inferiors  will  be  found  to  love  exceedingly.  The  re- 
lation between  superiors  and  inferiors  is  like  that  between 
the  wind  and  grass.  The  grass  must  bend,  when  the 
wind  blows  upon  it.’  The  business  depends  on  the 
prince.” 

Yen  Yew  returned  with  this  answer  to  his  commission, 
and  the  prince  said,  “ It  is  so.  The  matter  does  indeed 
depend  on  me.”  So  for  five  months  he  dwelt  in  the  shed, 
without  issuing  an  order  or  a caution.  All  the  officers 
and  his  relatives  said,  “ He  may  be  said  to  understand 
the  ceremonies.”  When  the  time  of  interment  arrived, 
from  all  quarters  of  the  State  they  came  to  witness  it. 
Those  w'ho  had  come  from  other  States  to  condole  with 
him,  were  greatly  pleased  with  the  deep  dejection  of  his 
countenance  and  the  mournfulness  of  his  wailing  and 
weeping. 

Mencius  said,  “ The  nourishment  of  parents  when  liv- 
ing is  not  sufficient  to  be  accounted  the  great  thing.  It 
is  only  in  the  performing  their  obsequies  when  dead,  that 
we  have  what  can  be  considered  the  great  thing. 

“ Not  to  be  able  to  keep  the  three  years’  mourning, 
and  to  be  very  particular  about  that  of  three  months,  or 
that  of  five  months  ; to  eat  immoderately,  and  swill  down 
the  soup,  and  at  the  same  time  to  inquire  about  the  pre- 
cept not  to  tear  the  meat  with  the  teeth  : such  things  show 
what  I call  an  ignorance  of  what  is  most  important.” 


DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 


249 


RELIGIOUS  RITES. 

Mencius  said,  “Though  a man  may  be  wicked,  yet  if 
he  adjust  his  thoughts,  fast,  and  bathe,  he  may  sacrifice 
to  God. 

“ When  a prince  endangers  the  altars  of  the  spirits  of 
the  land  and  grain,  he  is  changed,  and  another  appointed 
in  his  place. 

“ When  the  sacrificial  victims  have  been  perfect,  the 
millet  in  its  vessels  all  pure,  and  the  sacrifices  offered  at 
their  proper  seasons,  if  yet  there  ensue  drought,  or  the 
waters  overflow,  the  spirits  of  the  land  and  grain  are 
changed,  and  others  appointed  in  their  place.” 


ON  GIVING  AND  RECEIVING  PRESENTS. 

Wan  Chang  asked  Mencius , saying,  “ I venture  to  ask 
what  feeling  of  the  mind  is  expressed  in  the  presents  of 
friendship.”  Mencius  replied,  “ The  feeling  of  respect.” 

“ How  is  it,”  pursued  Chang ; “ that  the  declining  a 
present  is  accounted  disrespectful  ?”  The  answer  was, 
“ When  one  of  honorable  rank  presents  a gift,  to  say  in 
the  mind,  ‘ Was  the  way  in  which  he  got  this  righteous  or 
not  ? I must  know  this  before  I can  receive  it this  is 
deemed  disrespectful,  and  therefore  presents  are  not  de- 
clined.” 

]Van  Chang  asked  again , “ When  one  does  not  take 
on  him  in  so  many  express  words  to  refuse  the  gift,  but 
having  declined  it  in  his  heart,  saying,  ‘ It  was  taken  by 
him  unrighteously  from  the  people,’  and  then  assigns 


250 


MENCIUS. 


some  other  reason  for  not  receiving  it,  is  not  this  a 
proper  course  ?”  Mencius  said,  “ When  the  donor  offers 
it  on  a ground  of  reason,  and  his  manner  of  doing  so  is 
according  to  propriety : in  such  a case,  Confucius  would 
have  received  it.” 

Wang  Chang  said,  “ Here,  now,  is  one  who  stops  and 
robs  people  outside  the  gates  of  the  city.  He  offers  his 
gift  on  a ground  of  reason,  and  does  so  in  a manner  ac- 
cording to  propriety ; would  the  reception  of  it,  so  ac- 
quired by  robbery,  be  proper?”  Mencius  replied,  “ It 
would  not  be  proper.” 

It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  History,  “ In  presenting  an 
offering  to  a superior,  most  depends  on  the  demonstra- 
tions of  respect.  If  those  demonstrations  are  not  equal 
to  the  things  offered,  we  say  there  is  no  offering : that  is, 
there  is  no  act  of  the  will  in  presenting  the  offering.”* 

Mencius  said,  “ To  feed  a scholar  and  not  love  him,  is 
to  treat  him  as  a pig.  To  love  him  and  not  respect  him, 
is  to  keep  him  as  a domestic  animal. 

“ Honoring  and  respecting  are  what  exist  before  any 
offering  of  gifts. 

“ If  there  be  honoring  and  respecting  without  the  re- 
ality of  them,  a superior  man  may  not  be  retained  by 
such  empty  demonstrations.'' 


* A gift  is  valuable  for  the  giver’s  sake,  and  for  the  motives 
which  prompted  it. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


25i 


CHAPTER  V. 


miscellaneous. 


HISTORICAL  SCRAPS. 

Ke-sun  said,  “ A strange  man  was  Tsze-shuh  E.  He 
pushed  himself  into  the  service  of  government.  His 
prince  declining  to  employ  him,  he  had  to  retire  indeed, 
but  he  again  schemed  that  his  son  or  younger  brother 
should  be  made  a high  officer.  Who  indeed  is  there  of 
men  but  wishes  for  riches  and  honor  ? But  he  only, 
among  the  seekers  of  these,  tried  to  monopolize  the  con- 
spicuous mound. 

“ Of  old  time,  the  market-dealers  exchanged  the  arti- 
cles which  they  had  for  others  which  they  had  not,  and 
simply  had  certain  officers  to  keep  order  among  them. 
It  happened  that  there  was  a mean  fellow,  who  made  it  a 
point  to  look  out  for  a conspicuous  mound,  and  get  up 
upon  it.  Thence  he  looked  right  and  left,  to  catch  in  his 
net  the  whole  gain  of  the  market.  The  people  all  thought 
his  conduct  mean,  and  therefore  they  proceeded  to  lay  a 
tax  upon  his  wares.  The  taxing  of  traders  took  its  rise 
from  this  mean  fellow.” 

There  being  some  who  would  not  become  the  subjects 


252 


MENCIUS. 


of  Chow , king  Woo  proceeded  to  punish  them  on  the 
east.  He  gave  tranquillity  to  their  people,  who  welcomed 
him  with  baskets  full  of  their  black  and  yellow  silks,  say- 
ing, “ From  henceforth  we  shall  serve  the  sovereign  of 
our  dynasty  of  Chow,  that  we  may  be  made  happy  by 
him.”  So  they  joined  themselves,  as  subjects,  to  the 
great  city  of  Chow.  Thus,  the  men  of  station  of  Shan g 
took  baskets  full  of  black  and  yellow  silks  to  meet  the 
men  of  station  of  Chow , and  the  lower  classes  of  the  one 
met  those  of  the  other,  with  baskets  of  rice  and  vessels 
of  congee.  Woo  saved  the  people  from  the  midst  of  fire 
and  water,  seizing  only  their  oppressors,  and  destroying 
them. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  Shun  was  living  amid  the  deep 
retired  mountains,  dwelling  with  the  trees  and  rocks,  and 
wandering  among  the  deer  and  swine,  the  difference  be- 
tween him  and  the  rude  inhabitants  of  those  remote  hills 
appeared  very  small.  But  when  he  heard  a single  good 
word,  or  saw  a single  good  action,  he  was  like  a stream 
or  a river  bursting  its  banks  and  flowing  out  in  an  irre- 
sistible flood.’’ 


ITEMS  CONTAINING  REFERENCES  TO  ANCIENT  EMPERORS. 

In  the  time  of  Yaou,  when  the  world  had  not  yet  been 
perfectly  reduced  to  order,  the  vast  waters,  flowing  out 
of  their  channels,  made  a universal  inundation.  Vege- 
tation was  luxuriant,  and  birds  and  beasts  swarmed.  The 
various  kinds  of  grain  could  not  be  grown.  The  birds 
and  beasts  pressed  upon  men.  The  paths  marked  by  the 
feet  of  beasts  and  prints  of  birds  crossed  one  another 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


253 


throughout  the  Middle  Kingdom.  To  Yaou  alone  this 
caused  anxious  sorrow.  He  raised  Shun  to  office,  and 
measures  to  regulate  the  disorder  were  set  forth.  Shun 
committed  to  Yih  the  direction  of  the  fire  to  be  employed, 
and  Yih  set  fire  to,  and  consumed,  the  forests  and  vegeta- 
tion on  the  mountains  and  in  the  marshes,  so  that  the 
birds  and  beasts  fled  away  to  hide  themselves.  Yu  sep- 
arated the  nine  streams,  cleared  the  courses  of  the  Tse 
and  T’ah,  and  led  them  all  to  the  sea.  He  opened  a 
vent  also  for  the  Joo  and  Han,  and  regulated  the  course 
of  the  Hwae  and  Sze,  so  that  they  all  flowed  into  the 
Keang.  When  this  was  done,  it  became  possible  for  the 
people  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  to  cultivate  the  ground  and 
get  food  for  themselves.  During  that  time,  Yu  was  eight 
years  away  from  his  home,  and  though  he  thrice  passed 
the  door  of  it,  he  did  not  enter.  Although  he  had  wished 
to  cultivate  the  ground,  could  he  have  done  so  ? 

A long  time  has  elapsed  since  this  world  of  meti  re- 
ceived its  being,  and  there  has  been  along  its  history  now 
a period  of  good  order,  and  now  a period  of  confusion. 

In  the  time  of  Yaou,  the  waters,  flowing  out  of  their 
channels,  inundated  the  Middle  Kingdom.  Snakes  and 
dragons  occupied  it,  and  the  people  had  no  place  where 
they  could  settle  themselves.  In  the  low  grounds  they 
made  nests  for  themselves,  and  in  the  high  grounds  they 
made  caves.*  It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  History,  “ The 


* The  great  Yu  drained  off  the  overflowed  lands  in  the  center  of 
China,  especially  that  through  which  the  Yellow  river  flows,  and 
rendered  it  habitable. 

The  “nests”  were  huts  on  high-raised  platforms.  These  are 
said  to  have  been  the  summer  habitations  of  the  earliest  men;  and 


*54 


MENCIUS. 


waters  in  their  wild  course  warned  me.”  Those  “waters 
in  their  wild  course  ” were  the  waters  of  the  great  inun- 
dation. 

Shun  employed  Yu  to  reduce  the  waters  to  order.  Yu 
dug  open  their  obstructed  channels , and  conducted  them  to 
the  sea.  He  drove  away  the  snakes  and  dragons,  and 
forced  them  into  the  grassy  marshes.  On  this,  the  waters 
pursued  their  course  through  the  country,  even  the  waters 
of  the  Keang,  the  Hwae,  the  Ho,  and  the  Han,  and  the 
dangers  and  obstructions  which  they  had  occasioned  were 
removed.  The  birds  and  beasts  which  had  injured  the 
people  also  disappeared,  and  after  this  men  found  the 
plains  available  for  them , and  occupied  them. 

After  the  death  of  Yaou  and  Shun,  the  principles  that 
mark  sages  fell  into  decay.  Oppressive  sovereigns  arose 
one  after  another.  By  the  time  of  Chow,  the  empire  was 
again  in  a state  of  great  confusion. 

Chow-Kung  assisted  king  Woo,  and  destroyed  Chow. 
He  smote  Yen,  and  after  three  years  put  its  sovereign  to 
death.  He  drove  Fei-leen  to  a corner  by  the  sea,  and 
slew  him.  The  States  which  he  extinguished  amounted 
to  fifty.  He  drove  far  away  also  the  tigers,  leopards,  rhi- 
noceroses, and  elephants  ; and  the  empire  was  greatly 
delighted.  It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  History,  “Great  and 
splendid  were  the  plans  of  king  Wan  ! Greatly  were 
they  carried  out  by  the  energy  of  king  Woo  ! They  are 
for  the  assistance  and  instruction  of  us  who  are  of  an 
after  day.  They  are  all  in  principle  correct,  and  deficient 
in  nothing.” 


in  winter,  “ artificial  caves,”  i.  e.,  caves  hollowed  out  front  heaps 
of  earth  raised  upon  the  ground. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


25b 

Again  the  world  fell  into  decay,  and  principles  faded 
away.  Perverse  speakings  and  oppressive  deeds  waxed 
rife  again.  There  were  instances  of  ministers  who  mur- 
dered their  sovereigns,  and  of  sons  who  murdered  their 
fathers. 

Once  more,  sage  emperors  cease  to  arise,  and  the 
princes  of  the  States  give  the  reins  to  their  lusts.  Un- 
employed scholars  indulge  in  unreasonable  discussions. 
The  words  of  Yang  Choo  and  Mill  Teih  fill  the  em- 
pire. If  you  listen  to  people’s  discourses  throughout  it, 
you  will  find  that  they  have  adopted  the  views  either  of 
Yang  or  of  Mih.  Now,  Yang’s  principle  is  “each  one 
for  himself,”  which  does  not  acknowledge  the  claims  of 
the  sovereign.  Mill’s  principle  is,  “ to  love  all  equally,” 
which  does  not  acknowledge  the  peculiar  affection  due  to 
a father.  But  to  acknowledge  neither  kinjr  nor  father  is 
to  be  in  the  state  of  a beast.  Kung-rning  E said,  “ In 
their  kitchens  there  is  fat  meat.  In  their  stables  there 
are  fat  horses.  But  their  people  have  the  look  of  hun- 
ger, and  on  the  vdlds  there  are  those  who  have  died  of 
famine.  This  is  leading  on  beasts  to  devour  men.”  If 
the  principles  of  Yang  and  Mih  are  not  stopped  and  the 
principles  of  Confucius  not  set  forth,  then  those  perverse 
speakings  will  delude  the  people,  and  stop  up  the  path 
of  benevolence  and  righteousness.  When  benevolence 
and  righteousness  are  stopped  up,  beasts  will  be  led  on 
to  devour  men,  and  men  will  devour  one  another. 

In  former  times  Yu  repressed  the  vast  waters  of  the 
inundation,  and  the  empire  was  reduced  to  order.  Chow- 
Kung’s  achievements  extended  even  to  the  barbarous 
tribes  of  the  west  and  north,  and  he  drove  aw'ay  all  fero- 
cious animals,  and  the  people  enjoyed  repose.  Confu- 


256 


MENCIUS. 


cius  completed  the  “ Spring  and  Autumn,”  and  rebellious 
ministers  and  villainous  sons  were  struck  with  terror.* 

Mencius  said,  “Yu  hated  the  pleasant  wine,  and 
loved  good  words. 

“ T’ang  held  fast  the  Mean,  and  employed  men  of  tal- 
ents and  virtue  without  regard  to  where  they  came  from. 

“ King  Wan  looked  on  the  people  as  he  would  on  a 
man  who  was  wounded,  and  he  looked  towards  the  right 
path  as  if  he  could  not  see  it. 

“ King  Woo  did  not  slight  the  near,  and  did  not  for- 
get the  distant. 

“ The  duke  of  Chow  desired  to  unite  in  himself  the 
virtues  of  those  kings,  those  founders  of  the  three  dynas- 
ties, that  he  might  display  in  his  practice  the  four  things 
which  they  did.  If  he  saw  anything  in  them  not  suited 
to  his  time,  he  looked  up,  and  thought  about  it  from  day- 
time into  the  night,  and  when  he  was  fortunate  enough 
to  master  the  difficulty,  he  sat  waiting  for  die  morning.” 


DETACHED  SENTENCES. 

Confucius  said,  “ I have  heard  of  men  using  the  doc- 
trines of  our  great  land  to  change  barbarians,  but  I have 
never  yet  heard  of  any  being  changed  by  barbarians.” 

If  Confucius  was  three  months  without  being  employed 
by  some  sovereign,  he  looked  anxious  and  unhappy. 


* Confucius  completed  the  annals  of  the  times  between  c.c.  721 
and  479,  called  the  “ Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,”  in  which  by 
commending  the  virtues  of  some  kings  and  setting  forth  the  vices 
and  cruelties  of  others,  he  hoped  to  present  motives  tor  the  re- 
forming of  his  own  times. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


257 


Among  the  ancients,  if  an  officer  was  three  months 
unemployed  by  a sovereign,  he  was  condoled  with. 

Mencius  said,  “ When  we  examine  the  sages — both  the 
earlier  and  the  later — their  principles  are  found  to  be 
the  same.” 

The  disciple  Yen,  in  an  age  of  confusion,  dwelt  in  a 
mean,  narrow  lane,  having  his  single  bamboo  cup  of 
rice,  and  his  single  gourd  dish  of  water ; other  men 
could  not  have  endured  the  distress,  but  he  did  not  allow 
his  joy  to  be  affected  by  it.  Confucius  praised  him. 

Heaven’s  plan  in  the  production  of  mankind  is  this  : 
that  they  who  are  first  informed  should  instruct  those 
who  are  later  in  being  informed,  and  they  who  first  ap- 
prehend principles  should  instruct  those  who  are  slower 
to  do  so. 

When  the  prince  wishes  to  see  a man  of  talents  and 
virtue,  and  does  not  take  the  proper  course  to  get  his 
wish,  it  is  as  if  he  wished  him  to  enter  his  palace,  and 
shut  the  door  against  him.  Now,  righteousness  is  the 
way,  and  propriety  is  the  door,  but  it  is  only  the  superior 
man  who  can  follow  this  way,  and  go  out  and  in  by  this 
door. 

Mencius  said  to  Wan  Chang,  “The  scholar  whose 
virtue  is  most  distinguished  in  a village  shall  make 
friends  of  all  the  virtuous  scholars  in  the  village.  The 
scholar  whose  virtue  is  most  distinguished  throughout 
the  State,  shall  make  friends  of  all  the  virtuous  scholars 
of  that  State.  The  scholar  whose  virtue  is  most  dis- 
tinguished throughout  the  empire,  shall  make  friends  of 
all  the  virtuous  scholars  of  the  empire. 

“ When  a scholar  feels  that  his  friendship  with  all  the 
virtuous  scholars  of  the  empire  is  not  sufficient  to  satisfy 


MENCIUS. 


258 

him , he  proceeds  to  ascend  to  consider  the  men  of  an- 
tiquity. He  repeats  their  poems,  and  reads  their  books  ; 
and  as  he  does  not  know  what  they  were  as  men,  to  as- 
certain this,  he  considers  their  history.  This  is  to  ascend 
and  make  friends  of  the  men  of  antiquity. 

“ The  way  of  truth  is  like  a great  road.  It  is  not  dif- 
ficult to  know  it.  The  evil  is  only  that  men  will  not  seek 
it.  Do  you  go  home  and  search  for  it,  and  you  will  have 
abundance  of  teachers. 

“ A man  may  not  be  without  shame.  When  one  is 
ashamed  of  having  been  without  shame,  he  will  after- 
wards not  have  occasion  for  shame.  The  sense  of  shame 
is  to  a man  of  great  importance. 

“ Those  who  form  contrivances  and  versatile  schemes 
distinguished  for  their  artfulness,  do  not  allow  their  sense 
of  shame  to  come  into  action. 

“ What  is  to  be  done  to  secure  perfect  satisfaction  ? 
Honor  virtue  and  delight  in  righteousness,  and  so  you 
may  always  be  perfectly  satisfied. 

“ Therefore,  a scholar,  though  poor,  does  not  let  go 
his  righteousness  ; though  prosperous,  he  does  not  leave 
his  own  path. 

“ Poor,  and  not  letting  righteousness  go  : it  is  thus 
that  the  scholar  holds  possession  of  himself.  Prosper- 
ous, and  not  leaving  the  proper  path  : it  is  thus  that  the 
expectations  of  the  people  are  not  disappointed. 

“ The  hungry  think  any  food  sweet,  and  the  thirsty 
think  the  same  of  any  drink,  and  thus  they  do  not  get 
the  right  taste  of  what  they  eat  and  drink.  The  hunger 
and  thirst,  in  fact,  injure  their  palaie.  And  is  it  only 
the  mouth  and  belly  which  are  injured  by  hunger  and 
thirst  ? Men’s  minds  are  also  injured  by  them. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


259 


“ If  a man  can  prevent  the  evils  of  hunger  and  thirst 
from  being  any  evils  to  his  mind,  he  need  not  have  any 
sorrow  about  not  being  up  with  other  men.* 

“ From  this  time  forth,  I know  the  heavy  conse- 
quences of  killing  a man’s  near  relations.  When  a 
man  kills  another’s  father,  that  other  will  kill  his  father ; 
when  a man  kills  another’s  elder  brother,  that  other  will 
kill  his  brother.  So  he  does  not  himself  indeed  do  the 
act,  but  there  is  only  an  interval  between  him  and  it.”  | 
“ Anciently,  the  establishment  of  the  frontier-gates 
was  to  guard  against  violence. 

“ Now-a-days,  it  is  to  exercise  violence. 

“ Anciently,  men  of  virtue  and  talents,  by  means  of 
their  own  enlightenment,  made  others  enlightened.  Now- 
a-days,  it  is  tried,  while  they  are  themselves  in  darkness , 
and  by  means  of  that  darkness,  to  make  others  enlight- 
ened. 

“ There  are  the  foot-paths  along  the  hills ; if  suddenly 
they  be  used,  they  become  roads,  and  if  as  suddenly 
they  are  not  used,  the  wild  grass  fills  them  up.  Now, 
the  wild  grass  fills  up  your  mind. 

“ The  exercise  of  love  between  father  and  son,  the  ob- 
servance of  righteousness  between  sovereign  and  minister, 
the  rules  of  ceremony  between  guest  and  host,  the  display 
of  knowledge  in  recognizing  the  talented,  and  the  fulfill- 
ing the  heavenly  course  of  the  sage  : these  are  the  ap- 
pointment of  Heaven.  But  there  is  an  adaptation  of  our 


* The  importance  of  not  allowing  the  mind  to  be  injured  by  pov- 
erty and  a mean  condition. 

t The  thought  of  its  consequences  should  make  men  careful  re- 
specting their  conduct. 


z6o 


MENCIUS. 


nature  for  them.  The  superior  man  does  not  say,  in 
reference  to  them , ‘ It  is  the  appointment  of  Heaven.’  ” 
Mencius  said,  “ Words  which  are  simple,  while  their 
meaning  is  far-reaching,  are  good  words.  Principles 
which,  as  held,  are  compendious,  while  their  application 
is  extensive,  are  good  principles.” 


MAXIMS. 

The  prince  who  does  not  honor  the  virtuous,  and  de- 
light in  their  ways  of  doing,  to  this  extent  is  not  worth 
having  to  do  with. 

If  medicine  do  not  raise  a commotion  in  the  patient, 
his  disease  will  not  be  cured  by  it. 

The  determined  officer  never  forgets  that  his  end  may 
be  in  a ditch  or  a stream ; the  brave  officer  never  forgets 
that  he  may  lose  his  head. 

The  philosopher  Tsang  said,  “ They  who  shrug  up 
their  shoulders,  and  laugh  in  a flattering  way,  toil  harder 
than  the  summer  laborer  in  the  fields .”  Tsze-loo  said, 
“ There  are  those  who  talk  with  people  with  whom  they 
have  no  great  community  of  feeling.  If  you  look  at  their 
countenances,  they  are  full  of  blushes.  I do  not  desire 
to  know  such  persons.  By  considering  these  remarks , 
the  spirit  which  the  superior  man  nourishes  may  be 
known.” 

To  urge  one’s  sovereign  to  difficult  achievements  may 
be  called  showing  respect  for  him.  To  set  before  him 
what  is  good  and  repress  his  perversities,  may  be  called 
showing  reverence  for  him. 

The  compass  and  square  produce  perfect  circles  and 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


261 


squares.  By  the  sages,  the  human  relations  are  perfectly 
exhibited. 

They  wish  to  have  no  opponent  in  all  the  empire,  but 
they  do  not  seek  to  attain  this  by  being  benevolent.  This 
is  like  a man  laying  hold  of  a heated  substance,  and  not 
having  first  wetted  his  hands.  It  is  said  in  the  Book  of 
Toetry — 

“ Who  can  take  up  a heated  substance, 

Without  wetting  his  hands  ? ” 

Mencius  said,  “ Of  all  the  parts  of  a man’s  body  there 
is  none  more  excellent  than  the  pupil  of  the  eye.  The 
pupil  cannot  be  used  to  hide  a man’s  wickedness.  If 
within  the  breast  all  be  correct,  the  pupil  is  bright.  If 
within  the  breast  all  be  not  correct,  the  pupil  is  dull. 

“ Listen  to  a man’s  words  and  look  at  the  pupil  of  his 
eye.  How  can  a man  conceal  his  character  ? 

“ Men’s  being  ready  with  their  tongues,  arises  simply 
from  their  not  having  been  reproved. 

“ The  evil  of  men  is,  that  they  like  to  be  teachers  of 
others. 

“ Men  must  be  decided  on  what  they  will  not  do,  and 
then  they  are  able  to  act  with  vigor  in  what  they  ought  to 
do. 

“ There  is  heaven  so  high ; there  are  the  stars  so  dis- 
tant. If  we  have  investigated  their  phenomena,  we  may, 
while  sitting  in  our  places,  go  back  to  the  solstice  of  a 
thousand  years  ago. 

“ There  is  no  greater  delight  than  to  be  conscious  of 
sincerity  on  self-examination. 

“ One’s  position  alters  the  air,  just  as  the  nurture  af- 
fects the  body.  Great  is  the  influence  of  position  ! 


262 


MENCIUS. 


“ I have  not  heard  of  one’s  principles  being  depend- 
ent for  their  manifestation  on  other  men. 

“ He  who  stops  short  where  stopping  is  not  allowable, 
will  stop  short  in  everything.  He  who  behaves  shab- 
bily to  those  whom  he  ought  to  treat  well,  will  behave 
shabbily  to  all. 

“ He  who  advances  with  precipitation  will  retire  with 
speed. 

“ A bad  year  cannot  prove  the  cause  of  death  to  him 
whose  stores  of  grain  are  large ; an  age  of  corruption 
cannot  confound  him  whose  equipment  of  virtue  is  com- 
plete. 

“A  man  who  loves  fame  may  be  able  to  decline  a king- 
dom of  a thousand  chariots,  but  if  he  be  not  really  the 
man  to  do  such  a thing , it  will  appear  in  his  countenance, 
in  the  matter  of  a dish  of  rice  or  a platter  of  soup.* 

“ The  disease  of  men  is  this  : that  they  neglect  their 
own  fields,  and  go  to  weed  the  fields  of  others,  and  that 
what  they  require  from  others  is  great,  while  what  they 
lay  upon  themselves  is  light. 

“ Those  who  give  counsel  to  the  great  should  despise 
them,  and  not  look  at  their  pomp  and  display.! 

“To  nourish  the  heart  there  is  nothing  better  than  to 
make  the  desires  few.” 


* A man’s  true  disposition  will  often  appear  in  small  matters, 
though  a love  of  fame  may  have  carried  him  over  great  difficulties. 

t Neither  flatter  nor  fear  ; preach  as  plainly  to  the  king  as  to 
In's  subject ; to  the  rich  as  to  the  poor. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


263 


THE  SOURCE  FROM  WHICH  MENCIUS  DERIVED  THE  DOC- 
TRINES OF  THIS  BOOK. 

Mencius  said,  “ From  Yaou  and  Shun  down  to  T’ang 
were  five  hundred  years  and  more.  As  to  Yu  and  Kaou- 
yaou,  they  saw  those  earliest  sages,  and  so  knew  their 
doctrines,  while  T’ang  heard  their  doctrines  as  trans- 
mitted’ and  so  knew  them. 

“ From  T’ang  to  king  Wan  were  five  hundred  years 
and  more.  As  to  E Yin,  and  Lae  Choo,  they  saw  T’ang 
and  knew  his  doctrine,  while  king  Wan  heard  them  as 
transmitted,  and  so  knew  them. 

“ From  king  Wan  to  Confucius  were  five  hundred 
years  and  more.  As  to  T’ae-kung  Wang,  and  San  E- 
sang,  they  saw  Wun,  and  so  knew  his  doctrines ; while 
Confucius  heard  them  as  transtnitted,  and  so  knew  them. 

“ From  Confucius  downwards  until  now,  there  are  only 
one  hundred  years  and  somewhat  more.  The  distance 
in  time  from  the  sage  is  so  far  from  being  remote,  and 
so  very  near  at  hand  was  the  sage’s  residence.  In  these 
circumstances,  is  there  no  one  to  transmit  his  doctrines  l 
Yea,  is  there  no  one  to  do  so  l ” 


PURSUIT  OF  KNOWLEDGE  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES.  265 


SELECTIONS. 


PURSUIT  OF  KNOWLEDGE  UNDER  DIFFI- 
CULTIES.* 


Formerly  Chungne  had  the  young  Hiiangto  for  his 
teacher ; 

Even  the  sages  of  antiquity  studied  with  diligence. 

Chaou,  a minister  of  State,  read  the  Confucian  dia- 
logues, 

And  he  too,  though  high  in  office,  studied  assiduously. 

One  copied  lessons  on  reeds,  another  on  slips  of  bam- 
boo ; 

These,  though  destitute  of  books,  eagerly  sought  knowl- 
edge. 

[To  vanquish  sleep]  one  suspended  his  head  [by  the 


* From  the  San  Tsz  King — Tinnetrical  Classic.' — Cftinese  Repos- 
itory, Vol.  IV,  1835-6.  The  San  Tsz  King  is  the  Chinese  First 
Reader;  and,  like  all  text  books  in  Chinese  schools,  it  must  be  so 
thoroughly  committed  to  memory  that,  from  beginning  to  end,  not 
a word  may  be  missed  in  the  recitation. 


12 


266 


SELECTIONS. 


hair]  from  a beam,  and  another  pierced  his  thigh  with  an 
awl  ; 

Though  destitute  of  instruction,  these  were  laborious 
in  study. 

One  read  by  light  of  glowworms,  another  by  reflection 
of  snow ; 

These,  though  their  families  were  poor,  did  not  omit 
to  study. 

One  carrying  fagots,  and  another  with  his  book  tied 
to  a cow’s  horn, 

And  while  thus  engaged  in  labor,  studied  with  intens- 
ity. 

Soo  Laoutseuen,  when  he  was  twenty-seven  years  of 
age, 

Commenced  assiduous  study,  and  applied  his  mind  to 
books. 

This  man,  when  old,  grieved  that  he  commenced  so 
late  ; 

You,  who  are  young,  ought  early  to  think  of  these 
things. 

Behold  Leang  Haou,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
two, 

In  the  imperial  hall  among  many  scholars,  gains  the 
first  rank  ; 

This  he  accomplished,  and  was  by  all  regarded  as  a 
prodigy. 

You,  youthful  readers,  should  now  resolve  to  be  dili- 
gent. 

Yung,  when  only  eight  years  old,  could  recite  the  odes ; 

And  Pe,  at  the  age  of  seven,  understood  the  game  of 
chess  : 


PURSUIT  OF  KNOWLEDGE  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES.  2 6j 

These  displayed  ability,  and  were  by  men  deemed  ex- 
traordinary ; 

And  you,  my  youthful  scholars,  ought  to  imitate  them. 
Tsae  Wanke  could  play  upon  stringed  instruments  ; 
Seay  Taouwan,  likewise,  could  sing  and  chant  : 

These  two,  though  girls,  were  intelligent  and  well-in- 
formed ; 

You,  then,  my  lads,  should  surely  rouse  to  diligence. 
Lew  Ngan,  of  Tang,  when  only  seven  years  old, 
Showing  himself  a noble  lad,  was  employed  to  correct 
writing  ; 

He,  though  very  young,  was  thus  highly  promoted  ; 
You,  young  learners,  should  strive  to  follow  his  exam- 
ple ; 

And  he  who  does  so  will  acquire  similar  honors. 

Dogs  watch  by  night ; the  cock  announces  the  morn- 
ing. 

If  any  refuse  to  learn,  how  can  they  be  esteemed  men  ? 
The  silkworm  spins  silk  ; the  bee  gathers  honey  ; 

If  men  neglect  to  learn,  they  are  inferior  to  the  brutes. 
He  who  learns  in  youth,  and  acts  when  of  mature  age, 
Extends  his  influence  to  the  prince,  benefits  the  people, 
Makes  his  name  renowned,  renders  illustrious  his  pa- 
rents, 

Reflects  glory  on  his  ancestors,  and  enriche'i  posterity. 
Some  for  their  offspring  leave  coffers  filled  with  gold  ; 
While  I,  to  teach  children,  leave  but  one  little  book. 
Diligence  has  merit ; play  yields  no  profit ; 

Be  ever  on  your  guard  ! Rouse  all  your  energies  t 


268 


SELECTIONS. 


A CONFUCIAN  TRACT. 


AN  EXHORTATION  TO  MEN  CONSTANTLY  TO  PRESERVE 
HEAVENLY  PRINCIPLES  AND  A GOOD  HEART.* 

Men,  when  first  born,  have  a nature  given  to  them  by 
heaven.  An  ancient  author  has  said  : This  (the  origi- 
nal good  heart)  is  an  important  thing;  it  is  the  most 
honorable  and  weighty  thing  in  a man’s  life ; he  must  not 
lose  it ; because  if  this  is  preserved,  then  the  man  is 
alive  : if  this  is  not  preserved,  then  the  man  is  dead.  If, 
although  this  is  not  preserved,  the  man  still  continues 
alive,  there  is  after  all  nothing  more  left  of  him  than  the 
mere  bodily  shell  containing  wickedness  ; there  is  no 
real  life. 

Seih  Kinghien  says  : Every  day  you  ought  to  call  out 
to  yourself,  “ Old  Master  ! are  you  at  home  ? ” In  the 


* Translated  for  the  Chinese  Repository , Vol.  XV,  1S46. 

The  gratuitous  printing  and  distribution  of  tracts  is  much  practic- 
ed amongst  the  Chinese.  The  Confucianists  do  it  to  recall  the 
people  to  the  practice  of  virtue  as  taught  by  the  sages;  the  Budd- 
hists do  it  in  order  to  bring  more  to  their  femples,  that  their  rev- 
enues may  be  augmented  ; while  all  hope  by  these  good  works  to 
accumulate  merit. 


A CONFUCIAN  TRACT. 


269 


evening  you  ought,  in  a retired  apartment,  to  ask  your 
heart,  saying,  “ Do  any  of  the  matters  which  you  have 
attended  to  to-day  wound  the  heavenly  principle,  or  do 
they  agree  with  principle  ? ” If  your  conduct  does  not 
correspond  with  heavenly  principle,  you  ought  in  future 
carefully  to  guard  against  it. 

Heaven  gives  benevolence,  politeness,  justice,  wisdom. 

(Here  is  given  a representation  of  the  heart.  Inside 
of  it  are  the  words  :)  Benevolence,  justice,  politeness, 
wisdom,  nature  almost  divine. 

(Outside,  but  connected  with  it,  are  the  words  :)  The 
affections  : joy,  anger,  sorrow,  happiness  : thoughts, 
wishes,  purposes. 

The  course  of  learning,  proper  for  men,  consists  in  re- 
storing reason  to  its  pristine  lustre,  in  an  enlightened 
heart,  and  in  making  the  summit  of  virtue  the  only  point 
of  rest. 

A map  of  the  heart  as  it  is  gradually  obscured  and 
lost.  (Here  is  given  a representation  of  the  heart  in  six 
phases,  at  first  quite  white,  gradually  blackening  till  it  is 
altogether  black.) 

1.  When  the  infant  is  newly  born,  the  original  heart  is 
altogether  complete. 

2.  When  it  is  influenced  by  desire,  the  original  heart 
begins  to  be  obscured. 

3.  When  principle  and  lust  war  together,  the  original 
heart  is  half  obscured. 

4.  When  the  passions  become  dissolute,  and  more  and 
more  ardent,  the  original  heart  is  more  than  half  ob- 
scured. 

5.  When  the  evening  feelings  (of  remorse)  are  no 


270 


SELECTIONS. 


longer  preserved,  the  original  heart  is  exceedingly  ob- 
scured. 

6.  When  the  few  (remnants  of  good)  are  altogether 
lost,  the  original  heart  is  completely  obscured. 

A map  of  the  heart  as  it  is  in  the  course  of  being  re- 
paired and  again  brightened. 

(Here  is  a similar  representation  of  the  heart,  at  first 
altogether  black,  then  gradually  whitening,  till  it  becomes 
all  white.) 

x.  Being  involved  and  drowned  in  wickedness  for  a 
long  time,  the  original  heait  is  destroyed  and  lost. 

2.  When  we  wash  away  what  is  unclean,  and  scrape 
off  the  dirt,  the  original  heart  begins  to  be  restored. 

3.  When  we  reform  errors,  and  remove  to  virtue,  the 
original  heart  is  gradually  being  restored. 

4.  When  we  subjugate  self  and  put  away  selfishness, 
the  original  heart  is  half  restored. 

5.  When  we  put  away  licentiousness,  and  preserve  sin- 
cerity, the  original  heart  is  very  much  restored. 

6.  When  all  virtue  is  reverentially  brought  into  action, 
the  original  heart  is  altogether  restored. 

Heart . 

Only  to  use  this  straight  heart  is  better  than  to  study 
the  classics.  Gods  and  spirits  will  all  respect  you  ; your 
after  generations  and  descendants  will  prosper. 

They  who  only  use  the  heart  as  thus  inverted  will  form 
into  clubs,  and  beat  and  rob  men.  Vengeance  will  come 


A CONFUCIAN  TRACT. 


27I 


upon  themselves  ; their  wives  and  children  when  living 
will  separate  from  them. 


Those  who  only  use  this  transverse  heart  madly  lose 
the  good  heart.  When  in  hades  they  fall  into  hell ; when 
in  the  world  they  are  changed  into  brutes. 

ffcor1 

They  who  on’y  use  this  slanting  heart  plot  and  scheme 
secretly  to  hurt  men.  Heaven’s  net  has  no  holes  to  let 
them  pass  throi.gh ; and  their  sons  and  grandsons  are 
destroyed. 

In  order  to  become  virtuous,  read  this  “heart  and  des- 
tiny” song,  and  as  a matter  of  course  you  will  have  a re- 
pentant heart  and  aroused  reflections. 

When  one’s  heart  is  good,  and  his  destiny  (or  lot)  is 
also  good,  he  will  be  both  rich  and  honorable,  and  attain 
to  old  age. 

When  the  heart  is  good,  and  the  destiny  bad,  heaven 
and  earth  will  certainly  protect. 

When  the  destiny  is  good  and  the  heart  bad,  there  will 
be  premature  death  when  only  half  way. 

When  the  heart  and  the  destiny  are  both  bad,  there 
will  be  poverty  and  weariness,  enduring  grief  and  sor- 
row. 

The  heart  is  the  destiny’s  origin  ; the  most  important 
thing  is  to  preserve  the  benevolent  course  (or  benevo- 
lence and  doctrine). 


2~]2 


SELECTIONS. 


Destiny  is  the  root  of  one’s  body  ; it  is  difficult  to  as- 
certain previously  whether  it  will  be  adverse  or  prosper- 
ous. 

If  we  believe  in  destiny,  and  do  not  cultivate  the  heart, 
it  will  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  constrain  heaven  and 
earth  to  our  purposes. 

We  ought  to  cultivate  the  heart  and  leave  our  destiny 
to  heaven  ; he  who  made  things  will  certainly  requite  us. 

Li  Kwang  slew  the  soldiers  who  surrendered  to  him  ; 
though  he  was  made  a marquis,  he  soon  emptily  van- 
ished. 

Sung  Kau  saved  the  lives  of  ants,  and  early  reached 
the  highest  literary  rank. 

Virtue  is  the  foundation  of  happiness,  but  wickedness 
is  the  omen  of  misery. 

We  ought  secretly  to  accumulate  virtue  and  merit ; and 
preserve  fidelity  and  filial  piety. 

Riches  and  honors  have  their  origin  in  our  past  con- 
duct. Happiness  and  misery  come  on  men’s  own  invita- 
tion. If  we  act  benevolently,  and  assist  those  who  are 
in  danger  and  miser}',  we  act  far  better  than  if  we  were 
to  fast  and  get  up  idol  festivals. 

Heaven  and  earth  exhibit  vast  kindness,  the  sun  and 
moon  do  not  shine  with  partiality. 

When  ancestors  attain  to  a long  life,  (in  doing  good) 
their  descendants  receive  abundant  happiness. 

My  heart  and  other  men’s  hearts  all  desire  honor  and 
splendor  ; when  this  man  and  that  man  have  the  same 
desire,  why  should  they  strive  with  others  to  obtain  it  ? 

In  the  first  place,  do  not  deceive ; in  the  second  place, 
do  not  cheat. 


A CONFUCIAN  TRACT. 


273 

If  in  our  hearts  there  sprout  up  the  desire  to  hurt  men, 
• spirits  and  gods  will  secretly  deride  us. 

If  our  destiny  is  five  parts  better  than  others,  our  hearts 
ought  to  be  ten  parts  better. 

To  have  both  the  heart  and  the  destiny  amended  and 
protected,  is  the  precious  concern  of  one’s  whole  life. 

In  former  times  Liu  Yuentsiang,  who  had  been  long 
afflicted  with  a lingering  disease,  wrote  this  heart  and 
destiny  song,  and  distributed  one  thousand  copies  of  it. 
Suddenly  he  dreamed  that  a sien  (a  superior  angelic  be- 
ing) clothed  in  red  garments,  in  company  with  an  old 
man,  arrived  and  said  : Because  you  have  composed  this 
song  and  exhorted  many  to  repentance,  God  has  pity 
on  your  severe  disease,  and  has  on  purpose  sent  a heav- 
enly physician  to  cure  you.  Your  life  was  originally  to 
be  only  forty,  now  it  will  be  lengthened  by  two  dozen  of 
years.  Having  said  this,  they  disappeared.  He  then 
took  medicine  and  got  quite  better.  Afterwards  he  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four. 

If  in  consequence  of  exhorting  others  to  repent,  men 
are  thus  rewarded,  how  much  more  if  they  reform  their 
own  hearts.  For  happiness  and  misery  come  by  our  own 
invitation. 

The  reader  of  this  tract  ought  not  to  despise  it.  He 
ought  immediately  to  vow  that  he  will  practice  virtue, 
and  thus  protect  his  family,  produce  good  fortune,  har- 
mony, peace  and  happiness.  If  by  our  efforts  one  man 
is  induced  to  arouse  his  heart  to  virtuous  conduct,  we 
shall  have  ten  merits.  If  ten  men  do  so,  we  shall  have 
one  hundred  merits  ; if  one  hundred  men,  we  shall  be 
marked  as  having  one  thousand  merits.  We  ought  im- 
mediately to  correct  our  hearts  and  practice  virtue.  This 


274 


SELECTIONS. 


is  the  excellent  mode  of  securing  what  is  erood  and  avoid- 
ing what  is  evil.* 

Ma  Tsan-yuen  (distributes  this). 

Printed  in  Amoy,  blacksmith' s jetty  at  Kotn  Kok  Ku, 
the  Divine  Heaven  Shop. 


* This  is  called  a Confucian  Tract,  but  there  are  several  doc- 
trines alluded  to  which  are  not  Confucian,  but  Budhistic ; such  are 
the  references  to  accumulating  merit  by  saving  the  lives  of  animals, 
by  repeating  religious  formulas,  by  making,  printing,  or  distribut- 
ing religious  tracts  ; such  also  are  the  references  to  hell,  or  the  pris- 
on of  the  earth,  and  to  transmigration.  Transmigration  is  also  a 
doctrine  of  the  Tauists.  The  pure  Confucianists  do  not  profess 
to  teach  anything  at  all  in  relation  to  a future  state.  The  rewards 
and  punishments  which  Confucius  discoursed  about  had  reference 
only  to  this  life,  though  he  spoke  of  them  both  as  descending  to 
posterity,  and  as  flowing  backwards  to  affect  deceased  ancestors. 


LUU11ISX  TKACT. 


2>5 


A BUDHIST  TRACT* 

Omita  Fuh  (Amidha  Budha)  receives  and  leads  those 
who  worship  Budha  and  are  virtuous,  to  go  far  away  and 
be  born  in  the  western  region. 

In  comparison  with  the  repairing  of  great  and  small 
roads — with  the  rendering  to  others  of  various  kinds  of 
assistance — with  whatever  is  most  straight  forward,  rap- 
id, comprehensive,  and  easy,  ( in  order  to  secure  our 
future  happiness) — everything  is  inferior  to  the  worship 
of  Budha.  The  whole  object  of  the  worship  of  Budha 
is  to  seek  for  life  in  the  western  region,  and  is  to  obtain 
a pure  country.  This  means  that  the  western  region  is 
an  extremely  happy  world,  and  is  the  pure  country  of 
Budha.  There  are  twelve  classical  or  sacred  books  of 
the  three  Tsang,  (a  name  of  Budha)  and  each  of  these 
leads  to  the  great  happiness.  There  are  eighty-four 
thousand  doctrines,  (or  law  gates)  each  of  which  exhorts 
us  to  go  to  the  western  region.  But  the  doctrine  which 


* Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  XV. 

This  is  a translation  of  a sheet  Tract,  of  the  kind  which  are 
posted  on  the  walls  along  the  streets  of  the  city,  at  the  gates  and 
market  places,  and  in  the  covered  resting  places  for  travelers  on 
the  country  roads. 


?76 


SELECTIONS. 


enjoins  the  worship  of  Buclha  is  by  far  the  best  and  most 
important ; and  than  it,  there  is  no  doctrine  more  con- 
ducive to  a benevolent  life. 

(The  Budha)  Kuteh  says,  He  who  stands  to  the  other 
doctrines,  is  like  an  ant  ascending  a lofty  mountain, 
which  in  an  hour  gets  only  a single  step  in  advance.  But 
the  doctrine  which  enjoins  us  to  go  to  the  western  region, 
is  like  a vessel  with  full  sails  and  favorable  wind  and 
tide,  which  in  an  instant  advances  one  thousand  miles. 
When  we  have  once  reached  the  western  region,  we  are 
no  more  obliged  to  go  out,  or  exposed  to  fall.  The 
highest  grade  (of  votaries)  is  able  to  ascend  the  Budha’s 
ladder.  The  lowest  grade  is  far  superior  in  happiness 
to  those  who  live  in  an  emperor’s  palace.  The  worshipers 
of  Budha’s  merits  are  very  lofty;  their  duties  are  very  easy. 
All,  whether  honorable  or  mean,  talented  or  stupid,  old 
or  young,  male  or  female,  the  eater  of  ordinary  food,  or 
he  who  restricts  himself  to  vegetables,  the  man  who  has 
left  his  family,  (the  bonze)  or  he. who  still  remains  in 
it — all  may  discharge  these  duties. 

I therefore  exhort  the  virtuous  males  and  believing 
females  of  the  ten  regions,  (all  the  empire)  into  whose 
hands  this  may  come,  immediately  to  put  forth  a believ- 
ing heart,  and  with  the  whole  heart  to  worship  Budha, 
and  seek  for  a life  in  the  western  region.  If  perchance 
you  are  involved  in  family  affairs,  and  endless  worldly 
transactions,  and  cannot  devote  your  whole  mind  to  this, 
then  you  ought  every  day  to  recite  Budha’s  name  three 
thousand  or  five  thousand  times,  and  make  a regular 
constant  practice  of  this.  If  even  this  you  cannot  do, 
your  recitation  of  this  sheet  will  be  reckoned  as  one  de- 
gree of  merit.  Having  recited  this  one  hundred  times, 


DUDTTIST  TRACT. 


277 


then  dot  one  of  the  circles  on  the  margin,  and  when  the 
dots  are  all  made  they  will  amount  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand.  Whether  it  is  for  yourself,  or  for  your 
father  and  mother,  that  you  are  asking  for  life  in  the 
western  region  ; or  whether  you  are  asking  for  your 
father  and  mother  protection  from  disease,  peace,  in- 
creased happiness,  or  protracted  old  age — in  all  such 
cases,  you  must  in  the  presence  of  Budha  burn  one  of 
these  sheets.  If  you  pray  for  the  happiness  of  your  de- 
ceased parents,  or  for  your  six  orders  of  relations  and 
their  relations,  you  must  before  the  ancestral  tablet,  or 
over  the  graves,  burn  one  of  these  sheets.  Whether  you 
worship  the  gods,  or  sacrifice  to  your  ancestors,  either  at 
the  festival  of  the  tombs,  the  ninth  solstice,  the  middle 
of  the  seventh  month,  or  the  end  of  the  year,  you  must 
recite  this  sheet,  and  then  burn  it  on  the  tombs  of  or- 
phans or  of  those  who  are  buried  by  charity,  and  thus 
provide  for  the  happiness  of  destitute  souls,  who  have  no 
relations  to  sacrifice  to  them.  In  doing  all  this  you  may 
rely  on  the  strength  of  Budha  to  secure  their  translation 
to  the  pure  country.  You  may  do  this  once  or  many 
times,  according  to  your  ability  ; and  the  merit  you  will 
obtain  is  inconceivable. 

I fervently  desire  that  you  may  together  put  forth  a 
believing  heart,  be  together  virtuous  friends,  together  see 
Budha,  and  together  arrive  at  the  extreme  of  happiness. 

Hwui  Chau,  the  head  priest  of  the  Drum  Mountain 
(Kii  Shan)  monastery  in  Fuhkien,  has  respectfully  printed 
this,  bows  and  exhorts. 


SELECTIONS. 


THE  RATIONALISTS. 

As  this  is  a sect  which  had  already  come  into  existence 
and  begun  to  exert  some  influence  when  Confucius  was 
endeavoring  to  inculcate  his  doctrines,  and  as,  in  the 
foregoing  pages,  there  has  been  occasional  reference  to 
the  Rationalists  and  the  tenets  which  they  held,  a brief 
notice  of  them  may  be  desired  by  the  reader. 

Some  portions  of  the  article  inserted  here  may  be 
acceptable  as  showing  what  China  has  been  able  to  pro- 
duce in  the  line  of  Transcendentalism.  What  we 
give  on  this  subject  is  partly  from  “ THE  MIDDLE 
KINGDOM,”  by  Dr.  Williams. 

The  sect  of  the  Rationalists,  or  Tan  Kia,  was  founded 
by  Lautsz’  or  Laukiun.  He  was  born  b.c.  604,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Tsu,  now  Hupeh,  fifty-four  years  before  Con- 
fucius, and  is  believed  to  have  had  white  hair  and  eye- 
brows at  his  birth,  and  been  carried  in  the  womb  eighty 
years,  whence  he  was  called  Lautsz’,  the  “ old  boy,”  and 
afterwards  Laukiun,  the  “venerable  prince.”  According 
to  Pauthier,  who  has  examined  his  history  with  some  at- 
tention, his  parents  were  poor,  and  after  entering  mature 


THE  RATIONALISTS. 


2 79 


years,  lie  was  appointed  librarian  by  the  emperor,  where 
he  diligently  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  ancient 
books,  and  became  acquainted  with  all  the  rites  and  his- 
tories of  former  times.  During  his  life,  he  made  a jour- 
ney through  Central  Asia,  but  what  was  its  extent  and 
duration  is  not  recorded.  His  only  philosophical  work, 
the  Tau  Teh  King , or  Memoir  on  Reason  and  Virtue, 
was  written  before  his  travels;  but  whether  the  teachings 
contained  in  it  are  entirely  his  own,  or  were  derived  from 
hints  imported  from  India  and  Persia,  cannot  be  decided. 
A parallel  has  been  suggested  between  the  tenets  of  the 
Rationalists  of  China,  the  Zoroastrians  of  Persia,  Es- 
senes  of  Judea,  Gnostics  of  the  primitive  church,  and  the 
Eremites  of  the  Thebaid,  but  a common  source  for  their 
conformity — the  desire  to  live  without  labor  on  the  cre- 
dulity of  their  fellow  men — explains  most  of  the  like- 
ness, without  supposing  that  their  tenets  were  derived 
from  each  other. 

The  teachings  of  Lautsz’  are  not  unlike  those  of  Zeno : 
both  recommend  retirement  and  contemplation  as  the 
most  effectual  means  of  purifying  the  spiritual  part  of  our 
nature,  annihilating  the  material  passions,  and  finally  re- 
turning to  the  bosom  of  the  supreme  Reason. 

He  says,  “ All  material  visible  forms  are  only  emana- 
tions from  Tau , or  Reason  : this  formed  all  beings.  Be- 
fore their  emanation,  the  universe  was  only  an  indistinct, 
confused  mass,  a chaos  of  all  the  elements  in  a state  of  a 
germ  or  subtle  essence.” 

In  another  section  he  says,  “All  the  visible  parts  of  the 
universe,  all  beings  composing  it,  the  heavens  and  all  the 
stellar  systems — all  have  been  formed  of  the  first  element- 
ary matter  : before  the  birth  of  heaven  and  earth,  there 


280 


SELECTIONS. 


existed  only  an  immense  silence  in  illimitable  space,  an 
immeasurable  void  in  endless  silence.  Reason  alone  cir- 
culated in  this  infinite  void  and  silence.” 

In  one  of  his  sections  Lautsz’  says,  “ Reason  has  pro- 
duced one,  one  produced  two,  two  produced  three,  and 
three  made  all  things.  All  beings  repose  on  the  feminine 
principle,  and  they  embrace,  and  envelop  the  male  princi- 
ple ; a fecundating  breath  keeps  up  the  harmony.” 

He  teaches  the  emanation  and  return  of  good  beings 
into  the  bosom  of  Reason,  and  their  eternal  existence 
therein;  but  if  not  good,  the  miseries  of  successive  births 
and  their  accompanying  sorrows  await  them.  His  own 
life  was  passed  in  ascetic  pri/acy,  and  he  recommends 
the  practice  of  contemplation,  joined  with  the  perform- 
ance of  good  deeds.  Lautsz’  says,  when  enforcing  be- 
nevolent acts  : 

“ The  holy  man  has  not  an  inexorable  heart : 

He  makes  his  heart  like  that  of  all  men. 

The  virtuous  man  should  be  treated  as  a virtuous  man, 

The  vicious  man  should  likewise  be  treated  as  a virtuous 
man : 

This  is  wisdom  and  virtue. 

The  sincere  and  faithful  man  should  be  treated  as  a 
sincere  and  faithful  man, 

The  insincere  and  unfaithful  man  should  likewise  be 
treated  as  a sincere  and  faithful  man  : 

This  is  wisdom  and  sincerity. 

The  perfect  man  lives  in  the  world  tranquil  and  calm ; 

It  is  only  on  account  of  the  world  for  the  happiness 
of  man,  that  his  heart  experiences  disquiet. 

Though  all  men  think  only  of  pleasing  their  eyes  and 
their  ears, 


THE  RATIONALISTS. 


2oI 


Those  who  are  in  a state  of  sanctity  will  treat  them  as 
a father  treats  his  children.” 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  Rationalist  writers  is 
Chwang-tsz’,  a disciple  of  Lautsz’,  from  whom  his  follow- 
ers derive  more  of  their  opinions  than  from  their  master 
himself : his  writings  have  been  repeatedly  commented 
upon  by  members  of  the  fraternity,  and  are  referred  to 
as  authoritative.  In  ancient  times,  small  parties  of  them 
retired  to  secluded  places  to  meditate  upon  virtue.  When 
Confucius  visited  Lautsz’,  the  cynic  upbraided  the  sage 
for  his  ambition  in  collecting  so  many  disciples  and  seek- 
ing after  office,  and  added  that  such  a course  of  conduct 
was  more  likely  to  nourish  pride  than  cherish  the  love 
of  virtue  and  wisdom. 

“ The  wise  man,”  he  said,  “ loves  obscurity  ; far  from 
being  ambitious  of  offices,  he  avoids  them.  Persuaded 
that  at  the  end  of  life,  a man  can  only  leave  behind  him 
such  good  maxims  as  he  has  taught  to  those  who  were  in 
a state  to  receive  and  practice  them,  he  does  not  reveal 
himself  to  all  he  meets  : he  observes  time  and  place. 
If  the  times  be  good,  he  speaks ; if  bad,  he  keeps  quiet. 
He  who  possesses  a treasure  conceals  it  with  care  lest  it 
be  taken  from  him ; he  is  careful  about  publishing  every- 
where that  he  has  it  at  his  disposal.  The  truly  virtuous 
man  makes  no  parade  of  his  virtue,  he  does  not  announce 
to  the  world  that  he  is  a wise  man.  This  is  all  I have  to 
say ; make  as  much  of  it  as  you  please.” 

Such  speculative  teachings,  and  waiting  till  the  times 
were  good,  were  not  adapted  to  entertain  or  benefit,  and 
Confucius  understood  his  countrymen  and  his  own  duty 
much  better  than  Lautsz’,  in  doing  all  he  could,  by  pre- 


2S2 


SELECTIONS. 


cept  ancl  practice,  to  show  them  the  excellence  of  what 
he  believed  to  be  right. 

Dr.  Medhurst  quotes  one  of  the  Chinese  Rationalists, 
who  praises  reason  in  a style  of  rhapsody  : 

“ What  is  there  superior  to  heaven,  and  from  which 
heaven  and  earth  sprang  ? Nay,  what  is  there  superior 
to  space,  and  which  moves  in  space  ? The  great  Tau  is 
the  parent  of  space,  and  space  is  the  parent  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  heaven  and  earth  produced  men  and 
things.  The  venerable  prince  (Reason)  arose  prior  to 
the  great  original,  standing  at  the  commencement  of  the 
mighty  wonderful,  and  floating  in  the  ocean  of  deep  ob- 
scurity. He  is  spontaneous  and  self-existing,  produced 
before  the  beginning  of  emptiness;  commencing  prior  to 
uncaused  existences,  pervading  all  heaven  and  earth, 
whose  beginning  and  end  no  years  can  circumscribe.” 

The  Tauists  suppose  their  founder  was  merely  an 
impersonation  of  this  power,  and  that  he  whom  they  call 
“ the  venerable  prince,  the  origin  of  primary  matter,  the 
root  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  occupier  of  infinite  space, 
the  commencement  of  all  things,  further  back  than  the 
utmost  stretch  of  numbers  can  reach,  created  the  uni- 
verse.” They  notice  three  incarnations  of  him  during 
the  present  epoch  : one  during  the  Shang  dynasty,  b.c. 
1407,  one  at  the  time  of  Confucius,  and  a third  about 
a.d.  623,  when  a man  of  Shansi  reported  having  seen  an 
old  man,  who  called  himself  Laukiun. 

Only  the  priests  of  this  sect  are  regarded  as  its  mem- 
bers ; they  live  in  temples  and  small  communities  with 
their  families,  cultivating  the  ground  attached  to  the  es- 
tablishment, and  thus  perpetuate  their  body  ; many  lead 
a wandering  life,  and  derive  a precarious  livelihood  from 


THE  RATIONALISTS. 


283 

the  sale  of  charms  and  medical  nostrums.  They  shave 
the  sides  of  the  head,  and  coil  the  rest  of  the  hair  in  a 
tuft  upon  the  crown,  thrusting  a pin  through  it ; and  are 
moreover  recognized  by  their  slate-colored  robes.  They 
study  astrology,  and  profess  to  have  dealings  with  spirits, 
and  their  books  contain  a great  variety  of  stories  of 
priests  who  have  done  wonderful  acts  by  their  help. 

Formerly  the  title  of  Heavenly  Doctors  was  conferred 
on  them,  and  a superb  temple  erected  to  Laukiun,  con- 
taining his  statue  : examinations  were  ordered  in  a.d. 
674  to  be  held  in  his  Memoir  on  Reason,  and  some  of 
the  priests  reached  the  highest  honors  in  the  State.  Since 
that  time  they  have  degenerated,  and  are  now  looked 
upon  as  ignorant  cheats  and  designing  jugglers,  who  are 
quite  as  willing  to  use  their  magical  powers  to  injure  their 
enemies  as  to  help  those  who  seek  their  aid. 

Since  the  entrance  of  Budhism  into  China,  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Tauists,  or  Rationalists,  has  very  much  changed, 
by  the  latter  sect  adopting  many  of  the  tenets,  and  con- 
forming to  many  of  the  customs  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Budhists.  One  evidence  of  this  change  is  found  in  the 
style  of  the  Tauist  literature  of  later  years  compared 
with  that  of  early  times  ; the  latter  being  more  in  the 
Budhist  manner.  We  give  below,  first  a specimen  of  the 
primitive  Tauist  writings.  It  is  from  a work  called 

THE  BOOK  OF  CONSTANT  PURITY.* 

“ Lau-kiiin  said,  Reason  (tau)  is  without  form  : it  pro- 


* We  quote  from  Transactions  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,  Part  V,  1855. 


2S4 


SELECTIONS. 


duced  heaven  and  earth.  Reason  is  without  passion  : it 
caused  the  sun  and  moon  to  revolve.  Reason  is  without 
a name  : it  supports  the  life  of  all  things.  I do  not  know 
its  name.  For  want  of  a better,  I call  it  Reason. 

“ In  this  (law  of  the  universe,  this  germ  of  all  being, 
here  called)  Reason,  purity  and  impurity,  motion  and 
rest,  are  all  embraced.  Heaven  is  pure,  earth  is  impure. 
Heaven  moves,  earth  rests.  The  male  is  pure,  the  female 
impure.  To  the  male  belongs  motion,  to  the  female  rest. 
Causes  are  made  to  operate,  consequences  flow  from 
them,  and  all  things  are  produced.  The  pure  gives  ori- 
gin to  the  impure,  and  motion  is  the  foundation  of  rest. 
If  man  be  able  to  adhere  constantly  to  purity  and  rest, 
heaven  and  earth  will  be  altogether  compliant  to  his 
wishes. 

“ Man’s  soul  (shin)  loves  purity,  but  his  heart  (sin) 
disturbs  it.  Man’s  heart  loves  rest,  but  his  passions 
lead  it  abroad. 

“ If  the  passions  can  be  permanently  expelled,  then 
the  heart  will  of  itself  be  at  rest.  If  the  heart  be  pure, 
the  soul  will  of  itself  become  pure.  The  six  passions 
will  spontaneously  cease  their  activity,  and  the  three  pas- 
sions of  the  mind  will  spontaneously  be  destroyed. 

“ If  they  are  not  so,  the  reason  is,  that  the  heart  is  not 
yet  purified,  nor  the  passions  expelled.  He  who  can  ex- 
pel his  passions,  looks  inward  to  his  heart,  and  then  his 
heart  ceases  to  be  a heart.  He  also  looks  outward  at 
form,  and  form  then  ceases  to  be.  Farther  still,  he  looks 
at  things,  and  those  things  become  nothing.  These  three 
things  once  known,  (viz.,  that  the  heart,  form,  and  out- 
ward things  are  nothing)  he  exercises  his  perceptions 
solely  in  vacancy.  When  he  thus  sees  emptiness  to  be 


THE  RATIONALISTS. 


285 


emptiness,  then  this  emptiness  ceases  to  be.  When  it 
ceases  to  be,  then  this  assertion  of  its  non-existence  be- 
comes unreal,  and  then  perpetual  rest  is  attained.  When 
rest  ceases  to  be  regarded  as  rest,  how  can  the  passions 
again  become  active  ? When  the  passions  have  ceased 
to  be  active,  that  is  true  rest.  Man  has  then  found  his 
place,  and  his  nature  reached  its  perfection. 

“ Having  attained  this  purity  and  rest,  man  gradually 
enters  the  region  of  true  reason.  He  may  be  regarded 
as  knowing  and  feeling  the  first  principles  of  religion. 
Yet  it  is  not  right  to  say  that  anything  is  known  or  felt. 
All  that  is  meant  is,  that  he  who  can  renovate  and  save 
other  beings,  may  be  regarded  as  knowing  the  principles 
of  religion.  He  who  perceives  the  true  nature  of  things 
is  a fit  person  to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  the  holy  doc- 
trines. 

“ Ivo-ung,  the  Sage,  who  had  attained  immortality,  said, 
* When  I attained  the  perception  of  truth,  I had  already 
recited  this  book  ten  thousand  times  over.  This  book 
teaches  what  gods  and  men  should  learn.  It  was  not  de- 
livered down  through  the  hands  of  uninstructed  scholars. 
I formerly  received  it  from  Tung-hwa-ti-kiun.*  It  was 
given  to  him  by  Kin-k’iueh-ti-kiiin,  and  to  him  again  by 
Si-wang-mu.  From  her  it  was  delivered  down  by  oral 
tradition.  I now  first  commit  it  to  writing.  Scholars  of 
the  first  rank,  if  they  understand  it,  will  be  raised  to  be- 
come heavenly  rulers.  Those  of  the  second  rank,  if  they 
attend  to  its  instructions,  will  be  placed  among  the  im- 
mortal sages  of  the  southern  palace.  Those  of  the  low- 
est class,  if  they  obtain  this  book,  will  enjoy  long  life  on 


* A follower  of  the  sect  of  Tau,  in  the  early  Han  dynasty,  of  the 
Wang  family,  was  called  Tung-hwa-ti-kiun. 


286 


SELECTIONS. 


earth,  roam  at  will  through  the  three  worlds,  and  enter 
the  golden  gate.” 

In  the  preceding  piece,  there  are  several  indications 
of  Budhist  influence,  which  tend  to  nullify  its  claims  to 
antiquity.  While  part  of  the  phraseology  is  taken  from 
the  Tau-teh-king,  the  more  metaphysical  portion — where 
the  existence  of  the  mind,  of  form,  of  all  things,  of  va- 
cancy itself,  is  denied — is  clearly  Budhist.  So  also  “ the 
ocean  of  misery,”  “ the  floating  on  the  rough  sea  of  life 
and  death,”  and  the  term  “gods  and  men,”  (for  devas 
and  men)  are  manifestly  Budhist.  While  these  circum- 
stances oblige  us  to  place  the  date  of  this  production 
later  than  it  professes,  it  is  still  in  other  parts  framed 
on  the  early  Tauist  model,  and  is  a good  exemplification 
of  the  style  of  thinking  then  prevalent  among  the  pro- 
fessors of  that  school. 

In  contrast  with  this,  a short  treatise,  altogether  in  the 
Budhist  manner,  will  now  be  translated  to  illustrate  the 
later  Tauist  literature.  It  is  called 

THE  WONDERFUL  BOOK  ON  THE  REMOVAL  OF  CALAMITIES 
AND  PRESERVATION  OF  LIFE. 

After  a preface  of  several  verses,  resembling  the  Kih 
or  Gatha  of  Budhist  books,  it  begins  : 

“At  that  time,  Yuen-shi-t’ian-tsun  (the  first  person  in 
the  San-tsing,  or  Tauist  trinity)  was  in  the  five  palaces 
in  the  grove  of  the  seven  precious  stones,  attended  by 
innumerable  sages,  all  radiating  boundless  light,  which 
shone  on  boundless  worlds.  They  were  looking  down 
on  numberless  human  beings,  suffering  numberless  evils, 
passing  hither  and  thither  in  the  world,  enthralled  by 


THE  RATIONALISTS. 


287 


the  metempsychosis  in  the  successive  births  and  deaths, 
tossed  on  the  waves  of  the  river  of  desire,  driven  about 
in  the  sea  of  passion,  and  immersed  in  the  tide  of  mate- 
rial sensations.”  “ From  beginning  to  end  they  are  in 
darkness,  unable  to  understand,  and  hopelessly  deceived. 

“ The  honored  one  of  heaven  then  addressed  them : 
Ye  living  beings,  having  your  being  from  what  is  not  be- 
ing, having  your  nothingness  from  what  is  not  nothing, 
know  ye  that  what  is  does  not  really  exist,  and  what  is 
not  is  not  really  non-existent.  He  who  knows  that  emp- 
tiness is  not  emptiness,  and  that  form  is  not  form,  has 
gained  wisdom.  He  can  then  enter  the  various  paths  of 
knowledge.  His  mind  will  grow  enlightened.  He  will 
be  freed  from  doubts.  He  will  not  rest  on  the  deceiving 
sensations  of  the  corporeal  frame.  He  will  escape  from 
all  pernicious  notions,  and  hindrances  to  virtue.  I there- 
fore address  to  you  the  instructions  of  this  excellent  book, 
which,  to  save  mankind,  is  given  them  for  constant  re- 
citation. Then  there  will  be  flying  Devas,  and  spirit 
kings,  the  unconquerable  ( Ki-kang-wang — the  four  kings 
of  Devas)  destroyers  of  evil,  wonderful  boys  who  protect 
religion,  and  sages  who  save  from  suffering:  each  of  them 
will  be  attended  by  myriads  of  followers,  who  will  guard 
this  book.  Wherever  it  is  honored,  evils  will  be  avoided, 
and  multitudes  saved.” 

This  piece,  which,  on  account  of  the  poverty  and  tau- 
tology of  its  conceptions,  is  given  here  in  an  abridged 
form,  is  almost  entirely  borrowed  from  the  sister  religion. 
T'ian  tsien,  honored  one  of  heaven,  is  copied  from  the 
title  of  Budha  S/ii  tsun,  honored  one  of  the  world.  The 
scene  of  audience  resembles  one  of  the  Hindoo  heavens. 
The  assembled  disciples  radiate  light  to  an  interminable 


238 


SELECTIONS. 


distance,  just  in  the  manner  of  the  Budhist  books.  The 
metempsychosis,  the  essential  misery  of  existence,  the 
deceptions  of  sense,  and  the  doctrine  of  universal  empti- 
ness, clearly  indicate  the  source  from  which  the  writer 
has  drawn  his  ideas.  The  salvation  of  crowds  of  living 
beings,  as  the  result  of  writing  and  reciting  this  book, 
the  mention  of  the  Devas  and  the  Diamond  King,  (kiu 
kang  wang)  are  other  illustrations  of  the  same  fact. 

The  invocations  to  the  three  persons  in  the  Tauist 
trinity,  commonly  used  in  the  Tauist  daily  service,  con- 
tain several  Budhist  expressions.  That  to  the  third, 
Lau-kiUn,  reads  in  the  following  manner : “ Thou  who 
everywhere  spreadest  thy  teaching,  through  successive 
kalpas  saving  mankind ; instructor  under  various  assumed 
titles  of  emperors  and  kings,  establisher  of  the  doctrine 
of  heaven,  of  earth,  and  of  man  ; keeping  secret  what  is 
profound,  and  revealing  what  is  simple  ; on  whom  attend 
twelve  hundred  ministers  and  chiefs  ; who  embracest  in 
thy  grasp  myriads  of  folds  of  Fan-ki  (Brahman  vapor) ; 
reformer  of  times,  ancient  and  modern  ; writer  of  the 
‘ book  on  Reason  and  Virtue  ’ in  five  thousand  words  ; 
who  holdest  light  and  darkness  in  thy  hands,  who  com- 
mandest  the  darkness,  and  presidest  over  the  mystic 
numbers  nine  and  five  : most  merciful,  most  wise,  T’ai- 
shang-lau-kiiin,  Tau-teh-t’ian-tsun.” 

In  this  extract,  the  words  kalpa,  ( a long  period  of  years ) 
and  Fan , ( Brahma ) are  both  Sanscrit.  The  notion  that 
Lau-kiun  assumes  various  names,  and  appeared  in  the 
world  at  certain  times  from  the  earliest  mythological  pe- 
riod and  downwards  to  the  time  in  which  he  really  lived, 
must  have  originated  after  the  doctrine  of  metempsycho- 
sis was  brought  to  China. 


TABLET  LITERATURE. 


23g 


TABLET  LITERATURE. 

/ Ascriptions  on  stone  tablets  are  numerous  in  China, 
and  many  of  these  tablets  are  very  ancient.  Foreign 
students  in  the  language  become  much  interested  in  the 
study  of  them.  These  inscriptions,  set  up  by  the  road- 
side, in  the  temples,  and  other  places  of  public  resort, 
must  exert  a powerful  influence  upon  the  people. 

The  specimen  which  we  give,  and  for  which  we  are  in- 
debted to  the  “Transactions  of  the  China  Branch  of 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,”  Part  V,  1855,  page  66,  was  copied 
from  a stone  tablet  in  Shanghae,  and  is  also  found  on  a 
tablet  in  a Confucian  temple  in  Sing-keang,  written  both 
in  Chinese  and  Mongul. 

“ The  sacred  will  of  the  emperor  by  the  decree  of  High 
Heaven  is  hereby  made  known  to  the  various  authorities, 
government  officers,  officials,  and  others  in  the  metropo- 
lis and  provinces  : 

“ The  doctrine  of  Confucius  having  been  given  down 
as  a standard  for  all  ages,  ought  to  be  honored  by  the 
ruling  families  of  the  State.  In  accordance  with  the  sa- 


SELECTIONS. 


cred  will  of  the  emperor  She-tsoo* * * §  regarding  the  sacred 
temples,  seminaries,  and  colleges  at  Keuh-fow Lin-meaou,f 
the  upper  metropolis, f the  great  metropolis,  § and  all  the 
provincial,  prefectural,  and  chief  and  secondary  district 
cities,  let  the  officers,  commissioners,  and  gentry  be 
strictly  prohibited  making  appropriations  of  the  edifice, 
either  permitting  assemblages  for  inquiring  into  judicial 
causes,  holding  wine  entertainments,  setting  on  foot  pub- 
lic works,  or  depositing  therein  any  government  chattels. 
The  produce  of  the  land  pertaining  to  the  seminaries, 
and  the  benefices  of  the  graduates,  must  not  be  appro- 
priated to  private  use  ; but  let  the  grain  raised  thereon 
be  applied  to  furnish  the  sacrifices  on  the  two  Ting\\  days, 
at  spring  and  autumn  respectively,  and  at  the  times  of 
new  and  full  moon  ; as  also  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
teachers  and  graduates,  the  distribution  of  rations  among 
the  destitute,  the  aged,  and  the  infirm  ; and  graciously 


* Kubla  Khan.  This  edict  was  issued  by  Timor,  the  grandson 
and  successor  of  Kubla  Khan,  in  the  year  1294,  and  was  published 
throughout  the  empire. 

t The  burial-place  of  Confucius, 

t Peking. 

§ The  present  Ching-tih  keen. 

||  The  days  on  which  Confucius  is  sacrificed  to,  being  the  first  days 
which  occur  in  the  2d  and  8th  months,  with  the  character  Tin  - in 
the  cycle  of  sixty.  In  the  great  cycle  of  sixty  years,  each  year  has  its 
peculiar  designation.  In  the  cycle  we  find  six  years  marked  with 
Ting  : the4th,  14th,  24th,  34th,  44th,  54th,  and  called  Ting  Mau, 
Ting  Chau,  Ting  hoi,  Ting  yau,  Ting  Mae,  and  Ting  Chi.  Each 
ten  years  has  a Ting  year;  each  twelve  months  has  a Ting  month; 
each  ten  days  has  a Ting  day;  each  day  with  its  twelve  divisions 
(one  division  equal  to  two  hours)  has  one  Ting  division.  Ting  has 
reference  to  fire,  one  of  the  Five  Elements. 


TABLET  LITERATURE. 


?nr 


providing  allotments  of  grain  for  those  who  are  generally 
honored  and  respected.  When  the  buildings  of  the  tem- 
ples are  dilapidated,  let  them  be  repaired.  Let  students 
be  brought  forward  and  maintained  ; being  placed  under 
a rigid  course  of  instruction,  and  well  disciplined  in  the 
principles  of  sound  doctrines.  When  any  become  dis- 
tinguished by  their  virtuous  conduct  or  literary  attain- 
ments, let  them  be  introduced  to  the  notice  of  the  pro- 
vincial judge  ; and  if  there  be  a satisfactory  response 
given  to  the  inquiries  put  by  that  functionary,  they  may 
then  become  eligible  to  be  employed  in  the  literary  offi- 
ces under  the  governors  of  their  respective  provinces. 
Let  the  judges  promulgate  their  instruction  and  render  it 
illustrious,  while  they  stimulate  the  candidates  to  dili- 
gence in  their  exertions.  Let  no  one  place  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  the  public  business  connected  with  the  tem- 
ples and  seminaries.  Let  the  business  of  the  scholars 
be  transacted  in  accordance  with  these  several  injunc- 
tions, so  that  the  aforesaid  sacred  intentions  may  be  car- 
ried into  action.  Should  any  one,  under  other  pretense, 
and  in  defiance  of  principle,  render  himself  culpable,  the 
laws  of  the  State  are  in  force.  Who  will  dare  to  incur 
the  penalty  ? Let  this  edict  be  attended  to. 

“ Che-yuen,  31st  year,  7th  month, day.” 


292 


SELECTIONS. 


DIRECTORY  FOR  THE  WHOLE  LIFE  * 

In  that  part  of  the  Book  of  Rites  which  relates  to  the 
inner  apartments,  or  nursery,  are  the  following  precepts  : 
“ All  those  who  have  children  born  to  them,  ought  to  se- 
lect from  among  their  concubines  those  who  are  fit  for 
nurses,  seeking  for  such  as  are  mild,  indulgent,  affection- 
ate, benevolent,  cheerful,  kind,  dignified,  respectful,  and 
reserved  and  careful  in  their  conversation,  and  make 
them  governesses  over  their  children.  When  children 


* These  are  selections  from  the  Book  of  Rites.  “ This  work,” 
says  Williams,  “ has  had  the  most  practical  effect  upon  Chinese 
manners  and  life.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  Chinese  Classics.  It 
gives  directions  for  all  the  actions  of  life.  The  regulations  pre- 
scribed do  not  refer  only  to  external  conduct,  but  are  interspersed 
with  truly  excellent  observations  regarding  mutual  forbearance  and 
kindness  in  society,  which  is  regarded  as  the  true  principle  of  eti- 
quette. The  Board  of  Rites  at  Pekin  is  established  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  out  the  instructions  of  this  work  ; in  it  also  are  found 
the  models  for  the  six  Boards,  viz  : The  Board  of  Civil  Office, 
Board  of  Revenue,  of  Rites,  of  Music,  of  War,  and  Board  of  Pun- 
ishments. The  religion  of  the  State  is  also  founded  upon  the  Book 
of  Rites,  and  children  are  early  instructed  and  drilled  in  all  the  de- 
tails which  it  contains,  respecting  their  conduct  towards  parents 
and  superiors. 

Our  selections  are  from  the  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  V. 


DIRECTORY  FOR  THE  WHOLE  LIFE. 


293 


are  able  to  take  their  food,  they  should  be  taught  to  use 
the  right  hand.  When  able  to  talk,  the  lads  must  be  in- 
structed to  answer  in  a quick,  bold  tone  ; and  the  girls, 
in  a slow  and  gentle  tone  ; a leathern  girdle  should  be 
given  to  the  lads,  and  a silken  one  to  the  girls.  At  the 
age  of  seven  years,  they  should  be  taught  to  count  and 
to  name  the  cardinal  points.  At  the  age  of  seven,  boys 
and  girls  must  not  sit  on  the  same  mat,  nor  eat  at  the 
same  table.  At  eight,  when  going  out  and  coming  in, 
and  when  eating  and  drinking,  they  must  wait  for  their 
superiors — being  taught  to  prefer  others  to  themselves. 
At  nine,  they  must  learn  to  number  the  days  of  the  month. 
At  ten,  they  (the  lads  only)  must  be  sent  abroad  to  pri- 
vate tutors,  and  there  remain  day  and  night ; studying 
the  arts  of  writing  and  of  arithmetic ; wearing  plain 
apparel ; always  learning  to  demean  themselves  in  a 
manner  becoming  their  age  ; and  both  in  receiving  in- 
struction and  in  practice  acting  with  sincerity  of  purpose. 
At  thirteen,  they  must  attend  to  music  and  poetry,  mark- 
ing the  time  as  they  rehearse  the  odes  of  Woo  Wang. 
When  they  have  advanced  to  the  age  of  fifteen,  they  must 
continue,  as  formerly,  the  recitation  of  poetry,  using  those 
odes  which  celebrate  the  praises  of  Wan  Wang ; and  at 
the  same  time,  attend  to  the  practice  of  archery  and  the 
management  of  the  chariot.  At  the  age  of  twenty,  they 
are  in  due  form  to  be  admitted  to  the  rank  of  manhood, 
and  to  learn  additional  rules  of  propriety : they  may  now 
wear  garments  made  of  furs  and  silk  ; must  rehearse  the 
odes  in  praise  of  Yu;  must  be  faithful  in  the  perform- 
ance of  filial  and  paternal  duties  ; and  though  they  pos- 
sess extensive  knowledge,  they  must  not  affect  to  teach 
others ; but  must  remain  at  home  and  not  spend  their 


294 


SELECTION'S. 


time  abroad.  At  thirty,  they  may  marry,  and  commence 
tiie  management  of  business,  and  while  they  will  now 
have  but  a few  opportunities  for  extending  their  knowl- 
edge, they  should  respect  the  wishes  of  their  friends,  and 
strive  to  accommodate  them.  At  forty,  they  may  enter 
into  the  sendee  of  the  State,  where  they  will  have  to  bring 
their  knowledge  into  frequent  use ; and  if  the  prince 
maintains  the  reign  of  reason,  they  must  serve  him  ; but 
otherwise  not.  At  fifty,  they  may  be  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  chief  minister  of  State,  and  engage  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  general  government.  And  at  seventy, 
they  may  resign  and  retire  from  public  duties. 

“ Girls,  after  they  are  ten  years  of  age,  must  not  leave 
their  apartments.  Placed  under  governesses  they  must 
be  taught  to  be  mild  both  in  language  and  deportment ; 
they  must  learn  to  spin,  wind  off  thread,  and  to  weave 
cloth  and  silken  stuffs  ; and  thus  perform  those  duties 
which  properly  belong  to  women  in  providing  clothes  for 
their  families.  They  may  see  to  the  preparations  for  the 
sacrifices  ; and  arrange  the  vessels  and  the  offerings  of 
wine,  and  vegetables,  and  thus  aid  in  the  sacrificial  rites. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen,  they  are  in  due  form  to  be  admitted 
to  the  rank  of  womanhood.  And  at  twenty,  they  may  be 
married,  unless  by  death  of  parent  they  have  been  called 
to  mourning,  in  which  case  marriage  must  be  deferred 
three  years.  When  they  are  received  with  the  prescribed 
ceremonies,  they  then  become  wives ; but  otherwise,  they 
are  regarded  as  concubines.’’ 

The  Book  of  Rites  contains  this  precept : “ Let  child- 
ren always  be  taught  to  speak  the  simple  truth  ; to  stand 
upright,  and  in  their  proper  places  ; and  to  listen  with 
respectful  attention.” 


DIRECTORY  FOR  THE  WHOLE  LIFE. 


20J 

While  their  father  and  mother  are  living,  children  mast 
not  presume  to  do  as  they  please ; nor  dare  to  regard 
any  property  as  their  own  : thus  showing  the  people  the 
difference  between  superiors  and  inferiors.  So  long  as 
their  father  and  mother  are  alive,  things  to  the  value  of 
a carriage  or  a horse  must  not  be  given  away  to  their 
friends,  or  be  presented  to  their  superiors  by  the  child- 
ren : in  this  way  the  people  are  taught  that  they  must 
not  presume  to  do  as  they  please. 

When  the  father  calls,  his  son  must  answer  promptly 
and  without  delay ; he  must  drop  whatever  work  he  has 
in  hand ; or  if  he  is  eating  and  has  food  in  his  mouth, 
he  must  spit  it  out  and  run  quickly.  If  the  son,  who  has 
aged  parents,  goes  away  from  the  house,  it  must  not  be 
now  to  this  place  and  then  to  that ; nor  must  he  delay 
his  return  beyond  the  proper  time ; nor  retain  an  un- 
disturbed countenance,  when  his  parents  are  afflicted 
with  sickness. 

In  the  Book  of  Rites  it  is  said,  “ Duty  to  parents  re- 
quires that  they  be  remonstrated  with  in  secret,  but  not 
opposed;  always  and  everywhere  attended  on,  and  assid- 
uously served  even  unto  death,  and  then  deeply  mourned 
for  during  three  years.  Duty  to  a prince  requires  that  he 
be  opposed,  and  not  remonstrated  with  in  secret;  always 
in  the  proper  place  attended  on,  and  assiduously  served 
even  unto  death,  and  then  mourned  for  during  three 
years.  Duty  to  a teacher  requires  that  he  be  admon- 
ished neither  with  open  remonstrance  nor  in  secret;  al- 
ways and  everywhere  attended  on,  and  assiduously  served 
even  unto  death,  and  then  mourned  for  in  heart  during 
three  years.” 

In  the  records  of  learning  (a  section  of  the  Book  of 


296 


SELECTIONS. 


Rites)  it  is  stated  that,  “ For  the  purposes  of  education, 
among  the  ancients,  villages  had  their  schools  ; districts 
their  academies  ; departments  their  colleges  ; and  the 
provinces  (or  principalities)  their  universities.” 

According  to  the  Book  of  Rites,  the  literary  chancellor 
provides  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  with  the  means  of 
education  in  three  distinct  departments ; and  in  order  to 
give  instruction  to  all  the  people,  those  who  are  the  most 
worthy  are  honored  and  promoted.  The  first  depart- 
ment includes  the  six  virtues,  wisdom,  benevolence,  pru- 
dence, justice,  faithfulness,  and  gentleness  ; the  second 
embraces  the  six  actions,  filial  obedience,  fraternal  kind- 
ness, kindred  attachment,  relative  affection,  true  friend- 
ship, and  tender  compassion  ; the  third  comprehends  the 
six  arts,  viz : the  ceremonies,  music,  archery,  directing 
the  chariot,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  In  like  manner,  by 
villages,  he  regulates  all  the  people  by  enforcing  the  eight 
kinds  of  punishment ; the  first,  for  disobedience  to  pa- 
rents ; second,  for  abandoning  kindred ; third,  for  hatred 
of  relatives  ; fourth,  for  the  want  of  fraternal  affection  ; 
fifth,  for  breach  of  friendship  ; sixth,  for  not  exercising 
compassion  j seventh,  for  tale-bearing ; and  eighth,  for 
exciting  rebellion. 

The  royal  statutes,  contained  in  the  Book  of  Rites,  re- 
quire the  directors  of  learning  to  promote  the  four  fine 
arts,  namely,  poetry,  history,  ceremonies,  and  music  ; and 
to  establish  four  terms  in  which  they  shall  be  respectively 
taught  : therein  following  the  example  of  the  ancient 
kings  for  training  up  literary  men.  Ceremonies  and  mu- 
sic should  be  taught  during  spring  and  autumn ; and  poe- 
try and  history  in  the  summer  and  winter. 


DIRECTORY  FOR  THE  WHOLE  LIFE.  297 

Commence  in  poetry.  Be  established  in  ceremonies. 
Become  complete  in  music. 

Ceremonies  and  music  can  never  for  a moment  be  laid 
aside. 


298 


SELECTIONS. 


RULES  OF  ETIQUETTE* 

In  the  Domestic  Rules  it  is  said,  “Men  in  serving  their 
parents,  at  the  first  cock-crowing  must  all  wash  their 
hands  ; rinse  their  mouth  ; comb  their  hair  ; bind  it  to- 
gether with  a net ; fasten  it  with  a bodkin  ; forming  it 
into  a tuft;  brush  off  the  dust;  put  on  the  hat,  tying  the 
strings,  ornamented  with  tassels ; also  the  waistcoat,  frock 
and  girdle,  with  the  note-sticks  placed  in  it,  and  the  in- 
dispensables  attached  on  the  right  and  left ; bind  on  the 
greaves  ; and  put  on  the  shoes,  tying  up  the  strings. 
Wives  must  serve  their  husband’s  father  and  mother  as 
their  own ; at  the  first  cock-crowing  they  must  wash  their 
hands  ; rinse  their  mouth  ; comb  their  hair ; bind  it  to- 


* [From  the  Siau  Hok,  or  Juvenile  Instructor.] 

There  are  many  treatises  for  the  guidance  of  teachers  and  pa- 
rents in  the  nurture  of  children  and  youth.  The  principal  of  these 
is  the  Siau  Hok,  which  has  exerted  a powerful  influence  in  forming 
and  stereotyping  the  character  of  this  most  wonderful  people.  In 
perusing  the  selections  which  we  give,  the  reader  will  perceive  the 
source  from  which  the  Chinese  derive  their  notions  of  order  and 
industry,  and  will  understand  how  it  comes  about  that  the  Chinese 
lads  employed  amongst  us  as  servants  so  soon  make  themselves 
useful  in  the  house;  being  generally  neat,  orderly,  respectful,  and 
industrious. 

W e quote  from  the  Chinese  Repository , V ol.  V. 


RULES  OE  ETIQUETTE. 


299 


gether  with  a net ; fasten  it  with  a bodkin,  forming  it  into 
a tuft ; put  on  their  frocks  and  girdles,  with  the  indis- 
pensables  attached  on  die  right  and  left ; fasten  on  their 
bags  of  perfumery  ; put  on  and  tie  up  their  shoes.  Then 
go  to  the  chamber  of  their  father  and  mother,  and  father- 
in-law  and  mother-in-law,  and  having  entered,  in  a low 
and  placid  tone  they  must  inquire  whether  their  dress  is  too 
warm  or  too  cool  ; if  the  parents  have  pain  or  itching, 
themselves  must  respectfully  press  or  rub  (the  part  affect- 
ed); and  if  they  enter  or  leave  the  room,  themselves  either 
going  before  or  following,  must  respectfully  support  them. 
In  bringing  the  apparatus  for  washing,  the  younger  must 
present  the  bowl  ; the  elder  the  water,  begging  them  to 
pour  it  out  and  wash ; and  after  they  have  washed,  hand 
to  them  the  towel.  In  asking  and  respectfully  present- 
ing what  they  wish  to  eat,  they  must  cheer  them  by  their 
mild  manner ; and  must  wait  till  their  father  and  mother, 
and  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law,  have  eaten,  and  then 
retire.  Boys  and  girls,  who  have  not  arrived  at  the  age 
of  manhood  and  womanhood,  at  the  first  cock-crowing 
must  wash  their  hands  ; rinse  their  mouth  ; comb  their 
hair  ; bind  it  together  with  a net,  and  form  it  into  a tuft ; 
brush  off  the  dust ; tie  on  their  bags,  having  them  well 
supplied  with  perfumery  : then  hasten  at  early  dawn  to 
see  their  parents,  and  inquire  if  they  have  eaten  and 
drunk  ; if  they  have,  they  must  immediately  retire  ; but 
if  not,  they  must  assist  their  superiors  in  seeing  that 
everything  is  duly  made  ready. 

“ All  the  domestics,  both  male  and  female,  at  the  first 
cock-crowing,  must  wash  their  hands  ; rinse  their  mouth  ; 
and  dress  ; collect  the  pillows  and  mats  ; sprinkle  with 
water,  and  sweep  the  inner  and  outer  apartments,  and 


3°° 


SELECTIONS. 


the  outer  court ; and  arrange  the  seats  : each  and  all  at- 
tending to  their  appropriate  duties. 

“ When  their  father  and  mother,  or  father-in-law  and 
mother-in-law,  wish  to  sit  down,  the  children  must  re- 
spectfully offer  them  a seat,  and  inquire  which  way  it 
shall  face  ; when  they  wish  to  sleep,  the  elder  children 
must  bring  them  a couch,  and  ask  in  what  direction  they 
shall  place  it.  (When  the  parents  arise,  after  sleeping) 
the  younger  must  offer  them  an  easy  chair  to  sit  upon  ; and 
the  domestics,  after  bringing  them  a couch  on  which  they 
may  recline,  must  gather  up  the  bed  and  mat ; hang  up 
the  clothes  ; put  up  the  pillows  in  a bamboo  case  ; and 
rolling  up  the  mat,  put  it  into  a cloth  bag.  But  the 
clothes,  mats,  beds,  pillows,  and  couch  of  the  father  and 
mother,  and  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law,  must  not  be 
removed  from  their  proper  place.  The  parents’  staff  and 
shoes  must  be  treated  with  respect,  and  not  rudely  han- 
dled ; their  vessels  for  rice,  water,  and  wine,  unless  emp- 
tied, must  not  be  used  (by  the  children);  nor  ever  may 
they  presume  to  eat  or  to  drink,  except  of  that  which  is 
left  by  their  parents.” 

The  Book  of  Odes  says,  “ Dutiful  children,  who  pos- 
sess strong  natural  affection,  will  have  a mild  temper ; 
and  possessing  a mild  temper,  their  countenance  will  be 
pleasant ; and  possessing  a pleasant  countenance,  their 
manners  will  be  complaisant.  The  dutiful  child  will  be 
most  careful  and  most  attentive,  like  a person  holding  a 
gem  or  bearing  a full  vessel,  who  is  afraid  of  dropping 
the  one  or  oversetting  the  other.  A lofty  demeanor  and 
stern  gravity  are  not  required  in  serving  parents.” 

In  the  Illustrations  of  Duties  are  the  following  max- 
ims : “ It  is  the  duty  of  every  son,  in  winter  to  warm,  and 


RULES  OF  ETIQUETTE. 


3°i 

in  summer  to  cool  (his  parents’  bed) ; in  the  evening  to 
wish  them  rest,  and  in  the  morning  to  inquire  after  their 
health  ; when  going  out,  to  announce  it  to  his  parents  ; 
and  on  returning,  to  go  into  their  presence  ; his  walks 
abroad  must  always  be  through  the  same  places  ; he  must 
have  some  settled  occupation. 

“ Children  must  not  occupy  the  principal  place  in  the 
house  ; nor  seat  themselves  on  the  middle  seat ; nor 
walk  in  the  middle  of  the  way  ; nor  stand  in  the  middle 
of  the  door.  In  providing  entertainments,  they  must  not 
limit  the  amount  of  food  ; nor  at  the  sacrifices,  go  among 
the  images.  If  their  parents  are  silent,  they  must  listen 
to  them  ; and  watch  them,  even  when  they  do  not  move. 
They  must  not  ascend  high  places  ; nor  approach  steep 
precipices  ; nor  may  they  indulge  in  slander  or  ridicule. 

“ While  their  father  and  mother  are  alive,  children 
must  not  pledge  themselves  to  their  friends  so  as  to  put 
their  own  lives  in  jeopardy.” 

Shun,  when  giving  orders  to  See,  remarked,  “ Unless 
the  people  are  kind  to  each  other,  the  five  relative  duties 
will  not  be  performed  : go,  therefore,  as  my  commis- 
sioner, and  respectfully  inculcate  the  duties  of  the  five 
relations,  treating  the  people  with  kindness.”  Address- 
ing Kwei,  another  of  his  ministers,  he  said,  “ Go  in  the 
office  of  chief  musician,  and  teach  the  elder  sons  that 
they  must  be  rigid,  yet  gentle  ; lenient,  yet  firm  ; rigor- 
ous, but  not  cruel ; reserved,  but  not  haughty.  The  feel- 
ings of  the  heart  are  expressed  by  words  in  poetry;  words 
are  arranged  by  numbers  in  verse  ; numbers  are  regu- 
lated by  intervals  into  tones  ; and  the  tones  are  reduced 
to  harmony  by  a scale  of  notes  with  which  the  sounds  of 
the  eight  kinds  of  musical  instruments  are  brought  in 


SELECTIONS. 


P' 

unison,  without  the  slightest  jar  or  discord.  With  such 
music  both  gods  and  men  are  delighted.” 

In  the  Students’  Manual  (written  by  Kwanchung)  it  is 
said:  “ While  the  tutor  gives  instruction,  the  pupil  must 
learn  ; and  with  gentleness,  deference,  and  self-abase- 
ment, receive  implicitly  every  word  his  master  utters. 
When  he  sees  virtuous  people  he  must  follow  them. 
When  he  hears  good  maxims  he  must  conform  to  them. 
In  a gentle  and  submissive  manner,  he  must  perform  the 
duties  which  he  owes  to  his  parents  and  brothers ; and 
must  never  behave  proudly,  presuming  on  his  own  abili- 
ties. He  must  cherish  no  wicked  designs  ; but  always 
act  uprightly.  Whether  at  home  or  abroad,  he  must 
have  a fixed  residence,  and  associate  with  the  benevo- 
lent. He  must  carefully  regulate  his  personal  deport- 
ment, and  control  the  feelings  of  his  heart.  He  must 
both  when  rising  and  at  rest,  keep  his  clothes  in  order. 
Every  morning  he  must  learn  something  new,  and  re- 
hearse the  same  every  evening,  doing  all  with  the  most 
respectful  and  watchful  attention.”  This  is  the  way  to 
become  a student. 

Confucius  said,  “ Let  your  children,  while  at  home, 
perform  the  duties  which  they  owe  to  their  parents ; 
and  when  abroad,  practice  those  which  are  due  to  broth- 
ers ; be  constant  and  faithful,  loving  all  men,  but  associ- 
ating only  with  the  virtuous  ; and  if  they  have  any  leisure, 
after  they  have  performed  their  duties,  let  them  spend  it 
in  the  pursuit  of  literary  objects.” 

“ When  the  father  or  teacher  of  a child  calls  him,  he 
must  answer  and  rise  without  delay.” 

“ The  mother-in-law,  at  the  death  of  her  father-in-law, 
retires  from  her  place  at  the  head  of  the  family  ; but  in 


RULES  OF  ETIQUETTE. 


all  matters  regarding  sacrifices  and  the  entertainment  of 
guests,  the  wife  of  the  first-born  son  [who  succeeds  to 
the  station  vacated  by  the  mother-in-law]  must  request 
her  pleasure  ; and  the  inferior  wives  must  ask  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  principal  one.” 

“ All  the  sons  of  the  family  must  respectfully  serve  the 
chief  of  the  clan  and  his  wife  ; though  honored  and  rich, 
they  must  not  on  that  account  presume  on  entering  his 
dwelling  to  behave  proudly  towards  his  family ; and 
although  they  have  a great  number  of  chariots  and  at- 
tendants, they  must  dispense  with  these  when  they  go  to 
his  house.  Nor  may  they,  presuming  on  the  superior 
rank  and  riches,  exalt  themselves  above  any  of  the  other 
members  of  the  family.” 

“ When  his  parents  are  in  error,  the  son,  with  a humble 
spirit,  pleasing  countenance,  and  gentle  tone,  must  point 
it  out  to  them.  If  they  do  not  receive  his  reproof,  he 
must  strive  more  and  more  to  be  dutiful  and  respectful 
towards  them  till  they  are  pleased,  and  then  he  must 
again  point  out  their  error.” 

“ If  a son,  in  performing  his  duty  to  his  parents,  has 
thrice  endeavored  to  correct  them,  without  their  listen- 
ing to  him,  then  weeping  and  lamenting  he  must  still 
follow  them.” 

In  the  Domestic  Rules  it  is  said,  “ Although  your  fa- 
ther and  mother  are  dead,  if  you  propose  to  yourself  any 
good  work,  only  reflect  how  it  will  make  their  names 
illustrious,  and  your  purpose  will  be  fixed.  So  if  you  pro- 
pose to  do  what  is  not  good,  only  consider  how  it  will 
disgrace  the  names  of  your  father  and  mother,  and  you 
will  desist  from  your  purpose.” 

“ Those  who  walk  slowly  after  their  seniors  are  dutiful 


SELECTIONS. 


3°4 

brothers  ; those  who  walk  hastily  before  their  seniors, 
are  undutiful  brothers.” 

“ If  any  one  is  twenty  years  older  than  yourself,  treat 
him  as  you  do  your  father ; if  one  is  ten  years  older, 
treat  him  as  your  elder  brother  ; if  only  five  years  older, 
follow  him  close  to  his  shoulder.” 

“ Following  your  teacher,  you  must  not  pass  by  him 
and  speak  to  other  people  ; meeting  him  on  the  road, 
quickly  advance  and  stand  erect  with  folded  hands.  An- 
swer when  he  speaks  to  you  ; but  if  he  does  not  speak, 
then  quickly  retire.  When  following  a superior,  if  he 
ascend  a hill  or  mound,  you  must  turn  your  face  to  the 
place  towards  which  he  looks.” 

“ If,  while  sitting  with  your  teacher,  he  question  you, 
wait  until  he  has  finished  his  interrogations,  then  reply. 
Rise  when  you  wish  to  inquire  respecting  your  studies, 
and  also  when  you  wish  to  ask  for  explanations.” 

“ If  while  sitting  with  a good  man,  he  vary  the  subject 
of  conversation,  then  rise  up  and  answer.” 

“ If  while  sitting  with  a good  man,  any  one  come  in, 
saying,  ‘ I wish,  when  you  have  a little  leisure,  to  speak 
to  you,’  all  who  are  on  the  right  and  left  must  retire  and 
wait.” 

“If  wine  is  brought  in  when  you  are  seated  with  a su- 
perior, you  must  rise,  and  bowing  go  up  to  receive  it.  If 
the  superior  bid  you  stop,  then  you  may  sit  down  and 
drink.  But  the  juniors  must  not  presume  to  drink  until 
their  superiors  have  emptied  their  cups.” 

“ IVhen  presents  are  made  by  a superior,  the  inferior 
must  not  presume  to  refuse  them.” 

“ When  feasting  in  company  with  a superior,  though 
there  be  a superabundance  of  food,  the  junior  must  not 


RULES  OF  ETIQUETTE. 


3°S 


refuse  it ; nor  may  he  decline  to  sit  down  on  equality 
with  his  superior.” 

“ When  sitting  with  a superior,  to  answer  without  look- 
ing towards  him  is  a breach  of  decorum.” 

“ Good  men  make  literature  the  bond  of  their  friend- 
ship ; and  by  friendly  union  they  strengthen  their  be- 
nevolence.” 

“ Friends  must  sharply  and  frankly  admonish  each 
other;  and  brothers  must  be  gentle  towards  one  another.” 

“ It  is  the  duty  of  friends  to  admonish  each  other  to 
do  good.” 

“ So  long  as  a host  does  not  ask  any  questions,  the 
guests  must  not  commence  the  conversation.” 

In  the  Sacrificial  Institutes  it  is  prescribed,  “The  hus- 
band and  wife  must  both  go  in  person  to  oversee  the 
sacrifices,  that  everything,  alike  in  the  male  and  female 
departments  of  the  household,  may  be  duly  prepared.” 

“ The  good  man,  when  the  time  for  offering  sacrifices 
arrives,  will  go  himself  and  superintend  them  ; and  if 
prevented  from  so  doing,  he  will  send  a suitable  person 
to  act  in  his  stead.” 

“ The  good  man,  though  poor,  will  never  sell  the  im- 
plements of  sacrifice  ; though  cold,  he  will  not  put  on 
his  sacrificial  robes  ; and  if  building  a house,  he  will  not 
cut  down  the  trees  which  grow  over  the  graves  of  his  an- 
cestors.” 

“ Your  body,”  exclaimed  the  philosopher  Tsang,  “ is 
the  legacy  of  your  father  and  mother  ; how  then  can  you 
presume  to  demean  yourself  in  an  unbecoming  manner  ! 
To  behave  unmannerly  in  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  life,  is 
a breach  of  filial  duty  ; want  of  faithfulness  in  serving 
the  prince,  is  undutiful  ; unmagisterial  conduct  in  an 


SELECTION'S. 


306 

officer  of  government,  is  undutiful ; unfaithfulness  to- 
wards friends,  is  undutiful  ; and  a want  of  courage  in 
battle  is  also  an  undutiful  act.  If,  therefore,  in  any  one 
of  these  five  particulars  there  is  a failure,  calamity  will 
surely  overtake  your  parents  ; how  then  can  you  dare  to 
demean  yourself  in  an  unbecoming  manner  ? ” 

Confucius  said,  “ Of  the  three  thousand  crimes  in- 
cluded under  the  five  kinds  of  punishment,  there  is  none 
greater  than  disobedience  to  parents.” 


THE  MIRROR  OF  THE  MIND. 


3-7 


THE  MIRROR  OF  THE  MIND. 

Ming  Sum  Paou  Keen , is  the  full  title  of  the  book, 
(from  which  we  here  give  a quotation)  which  means,  A 
Precious  Mirror  to  reflect  Light  on  the  Mind.  When  it 
was  first  published  does  not  appear.  The  edition  from 
which  this  was  taken  was  published  in  the  58th  year  of 
Keenlung  (1793).  It  consists  wholly  of  quotations  from 
the  most  approved  Chinese  writers,  both  ancient  and 
modern.  These  quotations  are  from  upwards  of  seventy 
different  authors — moralists  and  philosophers,  and  wri- 
ters of  the  three  religious  sects — who  lived  in  all  the 
intervening  ages  from  Yau  down  to  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century,  embracing  a period  of  little  less  than 
four  thousand  years. 

The  book  is  a small  octavo  of  fifty-four  pages,  and  is 
divided  into  twenty  sections,  on  as  many  different  sub- 
jects, but  all  designed  to  inculcate  good  morals,  and 
good  manners.  The  sentences  given  below  are  simply 
specimens  from  each  of  the  twenty  sections.  The  work 
is  wholly  of  a didactic  kind.  It  is  a compound  of  poetic 
and  prosaic  compositions ; consisting  of  anecdotes,  apho- 
risms, and  history.  The  style  is  often  figurative,  and  par- 


3oS 


SELECTIONS. 


takes  of  that  variety  which  would  be  expected  in  a book 
made  up,  as  it  is,  of  quotations. 

The  translations  given  below  were  made  by  the  late 
Dr.  Wm.  Milne,  for  the  Chinese  Repository. 

See  Vol.  XVI,  p.  406. 

1.  “Treasure  up  gold  to  hand  down  to  posterity,  and 
it  is  not  certain  that  posterity  will  take  due  care  of  it. 
Collect  books  to  hand  down  to  posterity,  and  it  is  not 
certain  that  posterity  will  be  able  to  read  them.  It  is 
therefore  better  to  lay  up  in  darkness  a store  of  secret 
virtues,  as  the  sure  plan  of  permanent  advantage  to  pos- 
terity.” 

2.  “ The  man,  who,  by  committing  bad  actions,  becomes 
famous,  if  men  do  not  punish  him,  Heaven  will  certainly 
slay  him.” 

3.  “ Death  and  life  are  here  determined — riches  and 
honor  are  from  Heaven.” 

4.  “ He  who  acts  filially  towards  his  parents,  his  own 
children  will  also  act  filially  towards  him.  If  he  is  him- 
self unfilial,  how  can  he  expect  his  children  to  be  filial  ? 
The  dutiful  and  obedient  will  have  dutiful  and  obedient 
children — the  rebellious  and  obstinate  will  have  rebel- 
lious and  obstinate  children.  If  you  do  not  believe,  only 
look  at  the  drop  from  the  eaves,  how  it  successively  falls, 
and  without  error.” 

5.  “ He  who  does  not  value  himself,  will  suffer  dis- 
grace. He  who  does  not  respect  himself,  invites  misery. 
He  who  is  not  self-full,  receives  advantage.  He  who  is 
not  self-opinionated,  will  attain  extensive  learning.” 

6.  “ Contentment  furnishes  constant  joy.  Much  cov- 
etousness, constant  grief.  To  the  contented,  even  poverty 
is  joy.  To  the  discontented,  even  wealth  is  a vexation. 


THE  MIRROR  OF  THE  MIND. 


3°9 


The  contented  will  always  have  a competence,  and  be 
their  whole  lives  without  disgrace.  He  who  knows  where 
to  stop,  and  always  stops  there,  will  his  whole  life  be 
without  shame.  Compared  with  those  of  your  superiors, 
your  circumstances  may  not  be  competent ; compared 
with  your  inferiors,  you  possess  superfluity.” 

7.  “ Sit  in  your  secret  chamber,  as  if  passing  through 
the  public  street.  Take  care  of  the  inch-large  heart,  as 
if  driving  six  horses.” 

8.  “ Man’s  temper  is  like  water.  Water  overturned, 
cannot  be  gathered  up  again.  The  temper,  let  loose, 
cannot  be  again  brought  under  restraint.” 

9.  “ The  living  man  who  does  not  learn,  is  dark,  dark, 
like  one  walking  in  the  night.” 

10.  “ He  who  brings  up  a son,  but  neglects  to  instruct 
him,  loves  him  not.  He  who  instructs  his  son,  but  with- 
out due  strictness,  also  loves  him  not.” 

11.  “A  mirror  displays  the  countenance.  Wisdom 
sheds  light  on  the  heart.  If  the  mirror  be  bright,  dust 
cannot  stain  it.  If  wisdom  be  clear,  that  which  is  evil 
and  lascivious  will  not  be  produced.” 

12.  “ He  who  is  without  education  in  youth,  will  be 
without  knowledge  in  old  age.” 

13.  “A  good  prince  is  generous  to  his  people,  with- 
out extravagance  ; employs  them  in  labor,  and  they  mur- 
mur not.  He  desires  without  covetousness  ; is  dignified 
without  pride  ; displays  majesty  without  sternness.” 

14.  “ Young  persons  and  servants  ought  not  in  any 
affair,  whether  small  or  great,  to  act  of  themselves  ; they 
ought  always  to  ask  of  the  elder  branches  of  the  family.” 

15.  “ Brothers  are  like  hands  and  feet.  A wife  is  like 
one’s  clothes.  When  clothes  are  worn  out,  we  can  sub- 


3i° 


SELECTIONS. 


stitute  those  that  are  new.  When  hands  and  feet  are  cut 
off,  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  substitutes  for  them.” 

16.  “The  benevolent  man  loves  others.  The  polite 
man  respects  others.  He  who  loves  others,  others  will 
always  love  him.  He  who  respects  others,  others  will 
always  respect  him.” 

17.  “ He  who  is  ready  with  promises,  will  rarely  ful- 
fill them.  He  who  flatters  one  in  his  presence,  will  com- 
monly be  found  to  speak  evil  of  him  behind  his  back.” 

18.  “The  mouth  is  the  door  of  human  misery;  and 
the  tongue,  the  axe  which  exterminates  the  body.” 

19.  “To  hold  intercourse  with  a good  man,  resembles 
the  scent  of  the  Idnhwui  flower.  One  man  plants  it, 
and  all  inhale  the  fragrance.  To  associate  with  a bad 
man,  is  like  one  climbing  a wall  with  an  infant  in  his 
arms.  If  he  slip  his  foot,  both  fall  and  suffer.” 

20.  “ There  are  four  things  in  women  which  deserve 
praise  : a vvoman’s  virtue,  her  countenance,  her  words, 
her  labors.  A woman’s  virtue  requires  no  extraordi- 
nary talent  above  that  possessed  by  others.  Her  coun- 
tenance requires  not  the  exquisite  charms  of  superlative 
beauty.  Her  words  require  not  fluent  lips  or  the  talent 
of  discussion.  Her  labors  require  not  a higher  degree 
of  skill  and  dexterity,  than  that  commonly  possessed  by 
others.  Let  her  be  chaste,  innocent,  sober,  and  econom- 
ical ; mind  her  duty  ; be  neat ; in  walking  and  resting, 
preserve  modesty ; in  her  actions,  observe  a rule  : these 
constitute  female  virtue.  Let  her  wash  and  dust  well ; 
keep  her  clothes  neat  and  clean ; bathe  at  proper  times ; 
and  preserve  her  person  from  filth  : these  constitute  fe- 
male beauty.  Let  her  choose  her  words ; avoid  unbe- 
coming conversation  ; speak  at  proper  times ; thus  she 


THE  MIRUOIl  O?  THE  MIND.  ’ I t 

will  not  displease  others : these  constitute  female  con- 
versation. Let  her  diligently  spin,  and  make  cloth  ; let 
her  not  indulge  her  appetite,  in  regard  to  savory  food  and 
liquors  ; let  her  prepare  good  things  to  set  before  the 
guests  : these  constitute  female  labor.  These  four  com- 
bine the  essential  virtues  and  duties  of  women.  They 
are  exceedingly  easy,  and  she  who  practices  them  is  a 
virtuous  woman.” 


selecxio:;: 


31* 


A PRECOCIOUS  YOUTH. 

The  examples  of  intelligent  youth  rising  to  the  highest 
offices  of  State  are  numerous  in  all  the  works  designed 
for  beginners,  and  stories  illustrative  of  their  precocity 
are  sometimes  given  in  toybooks  and  novels.  One  of  the 
most  common  instances  is  here  quoted  from  the  Eastern 
Garden’s  Miscellany,  that  of  Confucius  and  Hiang  Toh, 
which  is  as  well  known  to  every  Chinese  as  the  story 
of  George  Washington  barking  the  cherry-tree  with  his 
hatchet  is  to  American  youth.* 

“ The  name  of  Confucius  was  Yu,  and  his  stvle  Chung- 
m ; he  established  himself  as  an  instructor  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  kingdom  of  Loo.  One  day,  followed  by 
all  his  disciples,  riding  in  a carriage,  he  went  out  to  ram- 
ble, and  on  the  road  came  across  several  children  at  their 
sports  ; among  them  was  one  who  did  not  join  in  them. 
Confucius,  stopping  his  carriage,  asked  him,  saying,  ‘ Why 


* Williams’  Middle  Kingdom. 

The  story  is  quoted  by  Dr.  Williams  from  the  Chinese  Retosi- 
tory,  Vol.  X,  p.  614.  We  may,  in  passing,  be  permitted  to  call  at- 
tention to  this  book — the  Middle  Kingdom — two  closely  printed 
volumes  of  600  pages  each.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  fullest  and  most 
reliable  work  of  its  kind  on  China  which  has  yet  appeared. 


A PRECOCIOUS  YOUTH. 


-M 


is  it  that  you  alone  do  nut  play  ? ' The  lad  replied,  - Ail 
play  is  without  any  profit ; one’s  clothes  get  torn,  and 
they  are  not  easily  mended  ; above  me,  I disgrace  my 
father  and  mother  ; below  me,  even  to  the  lowest,  there 
is  fighting  and  altercation  : so  much  toil  and  no  reward, 
how  can  it  be  a good  business  ? It  is  for  these  reasons 
that  I do  not  play.’  Then  dropping  his  head,  he  began 
making  a city  out  of  pieces  of  tile. 

Confucius,  reproving  him,  said,  ‘ Why  do  you  not  turn 
out  for  the  carriage  ? ’ The  boy  replied,  ‘ From  ancient 
times  till  now  it  has  always  been  .considered  proper 
for  a carriage  to  turn  out  for  a city,  and  not  for  a city  to 
turn  out  for  a carriage.’  Confucius  then  stopped  his  ve- 
hicle in  order  to  discourse  of  reason.  He  got  out  of  the 
carriage,  and  asked  him,  ‘ You  are  still  young  in  years  ; 
how  is  it  that  you  are  so  quick  ? ’ The  boy  replied,  say- 
ing, ‘ A human  being,  at  the  age  of  three  years,  discrimi- 
nates between  his  father  and  his  mother  ; a hare,  three 
days  after  it  is  born,  runs  over  the  ground  and  furrows 
of  the  fields ; fish,  three  days  after  their  birth,  wander  in 
rivers  and  lakes : what  heaven  thus  produces  naturally, 
how  can  it  be  called  brisk  ? ’ 

Confucius  added,  ‘ In  what  village  and  neighborhood 
do  you  reside,  what  is  your  surname  and  name,  and  what 
your  style  ? ’ The  boy  answered,  ‘ I live  in  a mean  vil- 
lage, and  in  an  insignificant  land ; my  surname  is  Hiang, 
my  name  is  Toh,  and  I have  yet  no  style.’ 

Confucius  rejoined,  ‘I  wish  to  have  you  come  and  ram- 
ble with  me  ; what  do  you  think  of  it  ? ’ The  youth  re- 
plied, ‘ A stern  father  is  at  home,  whom  I am  bound  to 
serve  ; an  affectionate  mother  is  there,  whom  it  is  my 
duty  to  cherish ; a worthy  elder  brother  is  at  home,  whom 
if 


3*4 


SELECTIONS. 


it  is  proper  for  me  to  obey,  with  a tender  younger  brother 
whom  I must  teach  \ and  an  intelligent  teacher  is  there 
from  whom  I am  required  to  learn.  How  have  I leisure 
to  go  a-rambling  with  you  ? ’ 

Confucius  said,  ‘ I have  in  my  carriage  thirty-two 
chess-men  ; what  do  you  say  to  having  a game  togeth- 
er ? ’ The  lad  answered,  ‘ If  the  emperor  love  gaming, 
the  empire  will  not  be  governed ; if  the  nobles  love  play, 
the  government  will  be  impeded  ; if  scholars  love  it, 
learning  and  investigation  will  be  lost  and  thrown  by  ; 
if  the  lower  classes  are  fond  of  gambling,  they  will  ut- 
terly lose  the  support  of  their  families  ; if  servants  and 
slaves  love  to  game,  they  will  get  a cudgeling  ; if  farmers 
love  it,  they  miss  the  time  for  ploughing  and  sowing : for 
these  reasons  I shall  not  play  with  you.’ 

Confucius  rejoined,  ‘ I wish  to  have  you  go  with  me, 
and  fully  equalize  the  empire : what  do  you  think,  of  this  ? ’ 
The  lad  replied,  ‘ The  empire  cannot  be  equalized  ; here 
are  high  hills,  there  are  lakes  and  rivers  ; either  there 
are  princes  and  nobles,  or  there  are  slaves  and  servants. 
If  the  high  hills  be  leveled,  the  birds  and  beasts  will  have 
no  resort ; if  the  rivers  and  lakes  be  filled  up,  the  fishes 
and  the  turtles  will  have  nowhere  to  go  ; do  away  with 
kings  and  nobles,  and  the  common  people  will  have  much 
dispute  about  right  and  wrong ; obliterate  slaves  and  ser- 
vants, and  who  will  there  be  to  serve  the  prince  ! If  the 
empire  be  so  vast  and  unsettled,  how  can  it  be  equal- 
ized ? ’ 

Confucius  again  asked,  ‘ Can  you  tell,  under  the  whole 
sky,  what  fire  has  no  smoke,  what  water  no  fish  ; what 
hill  has  no  stones,  what  tree  no  branches ; what  man  has 
no  wife,  what  woman  no  husband  ; what  cow  has  no  calf, 


A PRECOCIOUS  YOUTH. 


315 


what  mare  no  colt  j what  cock  has  no  hen,  what  hen  no 
cock  ; what  constitutes  an  excellent  man,  and  what  an 
inferior  man  ; what  is  that  which  has  not  enough,  and 
what  that  which  has  an  overplus ; what  city  is  without  a 
market,  and  who  is  the  man  without  a style  ? ’ 

The  boy  replied,  “ A glowworm’s  fire  has  no  smoke, 
and  well-water  no  fish  ; a mound  of  earth  has  no  stones, 
and  a rotten  tree  no  branches  ; genii  have  no  wives,  and 
fairies  no  husbands  ; earthen  cows  have  no  calves,  nor 
wooden  mares  any  colts  ; lonely  cocks  have  no  hens, 
and  widowed  hens  no  cocks  ; he  who  is  worthy  is  an  ex- 
cellent man,  and  a fool  is  an  inferior  man ; a winter’s 
day  is  not  long  enough,  and  a summer’s  day  is  too  long ; 
the  imperial  city  has  no  market,  and  little  folks  have  no 
style.’ 

Confucius  inquiring  said,  ‘ Do  you  know  what  are  the 
connecting  bonds  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  what  is 
the  beginning  and  ending  of  the  dual  powers  ? What  is 
left,  and  what  is  right ; what  is  out,  and  what  is  in  ; who 
is  father,  and  who  is  mother ; who  is  husband,  and  who 
is  wife  ? [Do  you  know]  where  the  wind  comes  from,  and 
from  whence  the  rain  ? From  whence  the  clouds  issue, 
and  the  dew  arises  ? And  for  how  many  tens  of  thous- 
ands of  miles  the  sky  and  earth  go  parallel  ? ’ 

The  youth  answering  said,  ‘ Nine  multiplied  nine  times 
makes  eighty-one,  which  is  the  controlling  bond  of  heaven 
and  earth  ; eight  multiplied  into  nine  makes  seventy-two, 
the  beginning  and  end  of  the  dual  powers.  Heaven  is 
father,  and  earth  is  mother  ; the  sun  is  husband,  and  the 
moon  is  wife  ; east  is  left,  and  west  is  right ; without  is 
out,  and  inside  is  in ; the  winds  come  from  Tsang-wu, 
and  the  rains  proceed  from  wastes  and  wilds ; the  clouds 


3x6 


SELECTIONS. 


issue  from  the  hills,  and  the  dew  rises  from  the  ground. 
Sky  and  earth  go  parallel  for  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  miles,  and  the  four  points  of  the  compass  have 
each  their  station.’ 

Confucius  asking,  said,  ‘ Which  do  you  say  is  the  near- 
est relation,  father  and  mother,  or  husband  and  wife  ? ’ 
The  boy  responded,  ‘ One’s  parents  are  near  ; husband 
and  wife  are  not  [so]  near.’ 

Confucius  rejoined,  ‘While  husband  and  wife  are  alive, 
they  sleep  under  the  same  coverlet ; when  they  are  dead, 
they  lie  in  the  same  grave  ; how,  then,  can  you  say  that 
they  are  not  near  ? ’ The  boy  replied,  ‘ A man  without  a 
wife  is  like  a carriage  without  a wheel ; if  there  be  no 
wheel,  another  one  is  made,  for  he  can  doubtless  get  a 
new  one ; so,  if  one’s  wife  die,  he  seeks  again,  for  he  also 
can  obtain  a new  one.  The  daughter  of  a worthy  family 
must  certainly  marry  an  honorable  husband  ; a house 
having  ten  rooms  always  has  a plate  and  a ridgepole; 
three  windows  and  six  lattices  do  not  give  the  light  of 
a single  door  ; the  whole  host  of  stars  with  all  their 
sparkling  brilliancy  do  not  equal  the  splendor  of  the  sol- 
itary moon : the  affection  of  a father  and  mother — alas, 
if  it  be  once  lost ! ’ 

Confucius  sighing,  said,  ‘ How  clever  ! how  worthy  ! ’ 
The  boy,  asking  the  sage,  said,  ‘ You  have  just  been  giv- 
ing me  questions,  which  I have  answered  one  by  one  ; I 
now  wish  to  seek  information  ; will  the  teacher  in  one 
sentence  afford  me  some  plain  instruction  ? I shall  be 
much  gratified  if  my  request  be  not  rejected.’  He  then 
said,  ‘ Why  is  it  that  mallards  and  ducks  are  able  to 
swim  ; how  is  it  that  wild  geese  and  cranes  sing  ; and 
why  are  firs  and  pines  green  through  the  winter  ? ’ Con- 


A PRECOCIOUS  YOUTH. 


3T7 


fucius  replied,  ‘ Mallards  and  ducks  can  swim  because 
their  feet  are  broad  ; wild  geese  and  cranes  can  sing  be- 
cause they  have  long  necks  ; firs  and  pines  remain  green 
throughout  the  winter,  because  they  have  strong  hearts.’ 
The  youth  rejoined,  ‘ Not  so  ; fishes  and  turtles  can 
swim  ; is  it  because  they  all  have  broad  feet  ? Frogs  and 
toads  can  sing  ; is  it  because  their  necks  are  long  ? The 
green  bamboo  keeps  fresh  in  winter  ; is  it  on  account  of 
its  strong  heart  ? ’* 

Again  interrogating,  he  said,  ‘ How  many  stars  are 
there  altogether  in  the  sky  ? ’ Confucius  replied,  ‘ At 
this  time  inquire  about  the  earth  ; how  can  we  converse 
about  the  sky  with  certainty  ? ’ The  boy  said,  ‘ Then 
how  many  houses  in  all  are  there  on  the  earth  ? ’ The 
sage  answered,  ‘ Come,  now,  speak  about  something  that’s 
before  our  eyes  ; why  must  you  converse  about  heaven 
and  earth  ? ’ The  lad  resumed,  ‘ Well,  speak  about 
what’s  before  our  eyes — how  many  hairs  are  there  in 
your  eyebrows  ? ’ 

Confucius  smiled,  but  did  not  answer,  and  turning 
round  to  his  disciples,  called  them  and  said,  ‘ This  boy  is 
to  be  feared  ; for  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  subsequent 
man  will  not  be  like  the  child.’  He  then  got  into  his 
carriage  and  rode  off.” 


* The  bamboo  grows  like  the  grasses,  with  joints,  but  hollow, 
without  any  heart  at  all. 


SELECTIONS. 


HARMONY  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE* 

If  the  relations  of  mankind  are  not  esteemed,  man 
cannot  be  rendered  perfect  (for  the  discharge  of  his  du- 
ties). Of  the  ties  that  bind  mankind  together,  having 
disposed  of  (those  of)  Father  and  Mother,  elder  and 
younger  brothers,  we  now  come  to  treat  of  husband 
and  wife.  In  this  world  the  husbands  and  wives  that 
live  harmoniously  and  happy,  are  very  many  ; and  those 
who  are  not  harmonious  and  happy,  are  very  few.  The 
root  and  fountain  of  this  want  of  harmony,  generally 
proceeds  from  the  husband  not  being  intelligent  and 
upright ; whether  it  is  that  he  despises  his  wife  on  ac- 
count of  the  poverty  of  her  origin,  or  dislikes  his  wife  for 
her  ugly  face,  or  gets  angry  with  her  for  her  natural  being 
foolish  and  stupid  ; seeing  then  (that  for  some  reason  or 
other)  she  does  not  come  up  to  your  ideas,  you  get  to  be 
at  variance  with  her  ; so  much  so,  that  right  or  wrong, 


* From  the  Chun  Ka  Po — The  Transmitted  Family  Pearls. 
Translated  by  the  late  Robert  Thom,  Esq.,  while  English  Consul 
at  Ningpo,  China,  for  a work  which  he  prepared,  called  the  “ Chi- 
nese Speaker.”  Ningpo,  1846. 

[The  words  and  parts  of  sentences  in  parenthesis,  are  such  as 
arc  needed  to  give  a smooth  rendering  in  English.] 


HARMONY  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  3 1 9 

you  scold  her  and  abuse  her,  as  if  she  were  a household 
slave  ! But  as  you  (have  begun  to)  treat  her  thus  unhar- 
moniously,  she will  most  naturally  treat  you  with  equal 
want  of  harmony  ! Alas  ! ye  know  not  that  great  as  are 
heaven  and  earth,  they  depart  not  from  (the  harmony 
that  regulates  ) the  male  and  female  ( principles  ! ). 
This  (harmony,  then,  of)  husband  and  wife,  is  the  very 
basis  of  all  human  relations. 

Think  for  a moment  that  there  are  in  the  world,  of 
men  and  women,  I know  not  how  many  millions,  whose 
having  become  in  this  life  united  as  husbands  and  wtves, 
is  entirely  owing  to  the  same  having  been  determined  in 
a previous  state  of  existence.  Thus  to  accomplish  the 
calculations  of  Heaven,  is  indeed  not  an  easy  matter. 

Just  reflect  then  ! Your  wife  has  turned  her  back  on 
her  own  father  and  mother,  to  come  to  do  homage  to 
your  father  and  mother ; she  has  put  away  her  own 
brothers  and  sisters,  to  pay  attention  to  your  brothers 
and  sisters ; she  has  married  into  your  family  to  bear 
men-children  and  to  nurse  female  children ; to  twist 
and  to  twine,  to  stitch  and  to  sew;  to  cook  for  the 
family,  to  look  after  your  brewing  and  washing  ; to  ex- 
perience, I know  not  how  many  hardships ; and  all  this 
just  to  look  up  to  you  (as  her  superior)  for  life,  to  de- 
pend upon  you  for  a livelihood,  and  to  hope  that  your 
two  hearts  will  beat  together  in  harmony,  and  that  your 
household  will  be  beyond  imagination  peaceful  and  hap- 
py ! If  you,  her  husband,  should  change,  (as  regards 
her ) your  bonds  of  affection,  and  on  the  contrary, 
cherish  (feelings  of)  disgust  and  hatred,  just  put  your 
hand  upon  your  heart,  (and  ask  yourself ) is  it  at  ease, 
or  not  ? If  you  despise  ( your  wife  ) because  she  is  poor 


SELECTIONS. 


320 

— I have  frequently  seen  with  these  very  eyes  ( let  me 
tell  you)  a great  many  rich  people’s  women  and  girls, 
whose  dispositions  have  become  habituated  to  pride  and 
haughtiness,  who,  with  reason  or  without  reason,  will  in- 
sult and  abuse  their  husbands,  and  not  incline  to  meek- 
ness and  submission  ! these  are  certainly  not  so  good  as 
the  girls  of  poor  families,  who  are  willing  to  suffer  on 
your  account,  both  hardships  and  sufferings  ! Moreover, 
in  this  world,  riches  and  honors  do  not  go  round  in  a 
circle  unchangeably.  As  for  what  pertains  to  the  future, 
how  can  it  be  ( said  to  be ) fixed  and  certain  ? Just  now 
do  you  say  that  you  are  rich  and  noble  ? Why  don’t  you 
look  at  (the  case  of)  Sung  Hung?*  He  was  so  honora- 
ble that  he  held  the  post  of  a great  minister  of  state  ; the 
Emperor  wished  to  take  the  princess  of  Chaou-yang, 
and  bestow  her  upon  him,  thus  making  him  his  son-in- 
law  ! but  unexpectedly,  he  uttered  that  (remarkable)  sen- 
tence, “ The  friendships  formed  in  poverty  are  not  to  be 
forgotten  ! the  wife  who  (formerly)  ate  husks  with  you,  is 
not  to  be  degraded  (from  her  place  in  ) the  hall ! ” so  that 
(even  the  Emperor)  could  not  force  him  (in  this  matter  ! ) 

By  this  (example)  may  be  seen,  that  even  he  who  was 
so  noble  as  to  be  prime  minister,  and  who  was  invited  by 
the  emperor  to  become  his  son-in-law,  even  he  would  not 
change  (the  object  of  his  affections !)  how  much  less  then 
should  you,  who  have  not  yet  attained  to  be  prime  min- 
ister, nor  have  yet  been  asked  by  the  emperor  to  become 


* A famous  statesman,  and  good-looking  fellow,  who  flourished 
in  the  reign  of  Kwang-woo,  of  the  Tung-Han  dynasty,  about  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 


HARMONY  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  32 1 


his  son-in-law?*  Why,  then,  should  you  despise  your 
wife  on  account  of  the  poverty  of  her  origin  ? If  you 
look  upon  her  face  as  ugly,  I have  often  seen  with  these 
eyes  of  mine  (let  me  tell  you)  many  ugly  women  and 
girls  who  have  enjoyed  a great  degree  of  happiness  ! this 
it  was  that  gave  rise  to  the  saying  of  our  forefathers : 
“ Happiness  is  found  by  the  side  of  an  ugly  person  ! ” 
Of  the  womankind  who  are  fascinating  and  lovely,  too 
many  (alas  !)  are  prostitutes,  and  the  vilest  of  the  vile  ! 
the  proverb  saith  truly,  “Of  pretty  faces,  the  majority  are 
unfortunate  ! ” there  is  not  the  slightest  mistake  in  this  ! 

If  you  should  now  say,  My  wife’s  face  is  not  beautiful, 
why  not  look  at  (the  case  of)  Lew  Ting-she  ? f After 
he  had  engaged  himself  in  marriage,  he  returned,  having 
obtained  the  degree  of  doctor  of  laws,  [and  found]  unex- 
pectedly that  his  affianced  wife  had  already  become  blind 
of  both  eyes  ; moreover,  her  family  was  poor,  and  did  not 
dare  to  speak  again  upon  the  subject  of  their  nuptials. 

Ting-she,  however,  chose  a (lucky)  day,  and  consummat- 
ed the  marriage.  When  some  one  advised  him  to  wed 
the  younger  daughter,  (of  the  same  family)  he,  Ting-she, 
would  on  no  account  consent ! He  said,  “ As  for  this 
(poor  blind)  woman,  if  I don't  marry  her,  during  her 
whole  life  she’ll  have  no  one  to  rely  upon ! (besides)  I 
had  already  given  her  my  promise ! tho’  her  eyes  be 
blind,  yet  how  can  I turn  my  back  upon  the  first  object 
of  my  affections  ? ” In  fine,  he  married  her,  and  they 
lived  to  a good  old  age  together ; not  only  did  he  not 


* Literally , — attached  to  his  (/.  e.  the  emperor’s)  horse, 
t A famous  scholar  and  upright  man  of  the  Sung  dynasty,  A.D. 
1200. 


322 


SELECTIONS. 


dislike  her,  but  contrariwise  they  lived  harmoniously.  Af- 
terwards she  bore  him  two  sons,  and  they  both  became 
noble  ! You  observe,  that  even  altho’  blind,  he  was  yet 
content  to  receive  her,  [in  marriage]  how  much  more  then 
should  you,  whose  wives  have  eyes,  and  are  not  blind  ? 

Ye  moreover  have  not  yet  attained  the  degree  of  doctor 
of  laws  ! why  then  should  you  dislike  your  wives  for  be- 
ing ugly?  If  you  hate  them  for  their  stupidity  and  worth- 
lessness, you  must  consider  that  they  are  womankind; 
that  as  they  cannot  read,  and  do  not  know  their  letters, 
they  cannot  understand  [the  principles  of]  reason  ! Still 
further,  if  their  dispositions  be  prejudiced  and  lazy,  they 
indeed  cannot  act  quite  correctly ; but  you  who  are  their 
husbands,  must  try  by  every  means  to  instruct  and  en- 
lighten them  ; ye  may  not  get  angry,  neither  should  you 
change  [in  your  affections].  Why  not  look  at  the  mon- 
keys : even  these  may  be  taught  to  act  plays  ; dogs  may 
even  be  taught  to  tread  in  a stone  mortar;  rats,  when 
taught,  can  leap  in  a revolving  circle ; and  starlings  may 
be  taught  to  recite  poetry  : by  this  it  may  be  seen  that 
even  birds  and  beasts  may  by  instruction  understand 
what  appertains  to  man  ; how  much  more  then  a human 
being;  how  can  she  be  taught,  and  yet  not  learn  ? Even 
in  one  case  out  of  ten  thousand,  supposing  it  should  so 
happen  that  instruction  is  thrown  away,  this  is  just  what 
your  [evil]  destiny  has  drawn  upon  you  ; you  can  only 
esteem  [the  more]  the  relations  of  mankind,  and  rest 
content  with  what  your  fate  has  awarded  you  ; you  may 
not  cherish  anger  and  hatred.  I with  these  eyes  have 
frequently  seen  a great  many  clever  and  [apparently] 
steady  persons  of  the  fair  sex,  who  [being  gifted  with] 
great  courage  and  high  talent  have  yet  been  guilty  of  a 


HARMONY  EETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  323 


number  of  most  ugly  actions ; and  these  are  not  so  good 
as  the  stupid  womankind,  who  yet  know  to  keep  quietly 
in  their  places.  In  one  word,  I beg  to  admonish  you 
who  are  husbands,  whatever  you  are  engaged  in,  you 
must  retire  a step,  [/.  e.,  pause  a little]  and  reflect ; sup- 
posing you  had  married  some  rash,  cruel,  and  unworthy 
woman,  who  by  all  manner  of  ways  unfeelingly  insulted 
and  abused  you,  and  feared  not  that  you  might  not  stand 
it;  how  would  you  feel  then,  pray?  On  no  account 
should  you  again  indulge  in  foolish  expectations. 

In  this  world  there  are  several  classes  of  [bad]  men, 
who  abandon  their  wives  : these  must  meet  an  evil  recom- 
pense [for  their  crimes].  Thus,  for  example,  there  are 
those  who  do  not  like  their  own  wives,  and  yet  take  de- 
light in  scheming  [to  ruin]  the  womankind  of  their  neigh- 
bors ; there  are  those  who,  having  already  had  boys  and 
girls  born  to  them,  [of  their  wives]  get  tired  of  the  per- 
son that  they  see  every  day,  and  go  after  new  faces,  fool- 
ishly thinking  to  take  up  with  concubines  and  female 
slaves ; there  are  those  who,  from  having  suddenly  ob- 
tained great  wealth,  or  by  good  fortune  got  literary  de- 
grees, loathe  [the  wife]  they  had  known  amid  poverty, 
and  tty  by  every  art  to  procure  some  lovely  mistress,  for 
dalliance  and  enjoyment ; there  are  those  whose  affec- 
tions are  madly  entangled  in  [the  snares  of]  prostitutes, 
who  give  themselves  up  to  houses  of  song  and  entertain- 
ment ; there  are  those  who,  being  merchants,  go  far-a- 
fleld  and  covet  some  pretty  concubine  or  other,  and  who 
year  after  year,  and  month  after  month,  think  not  of  re- 
turning to  their  homes  ; there  are  those  who  love  gam- 
bling, and  are  fond  of  law-suits,  and  who  care  not  for 
their  wives,  whether  they  be  good  or  bad  ; there  are  those 


SELECTIONS. 


3-4 

who  do  not  look  after  their  proper  business,  and  only 
think  how  they  themselves  are  to  be  warm  and  well  fed ; 
the  live-long  day  they  stroll  at  their  ease,  or  idly  lounge 
about,  or  they  involve  themselves  in  what  does  not  con- 
cern them,  and  as  for  their  wives  suffering  hunger  and 
cold,  they  ask  not  a word  about  it ; and  there  are  those  who 
love  their  concubines  and  despise  their  wives : these  sev- 
eral classes  of  men  [I  say]  have  never  known  the  pleas- 
ure of  singing  in  chorus,  each  mutually  supporting  the 
other ; of  playing  on  the  harp  and  psalter}',  keeping  the 
tune  to  the  music,*  thus  causing  their  wives  to  trim  their 
solitary  lamp,  and  to  sleep  on  their  lonely  pillow;  of 
their  wretched  and  forlorn  state,  to  whom  shall  they  tell 
the  tale  ? in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  as  the  wind  [howls] 
or  the  rain  [falls,]  this  [painful]  feeling  [of  loneliness]  is 
still  more  difficult  to  be  borne.  As  for  these  sorts  of  de- 
praved husbands,  I fear  that  [the  full  measure  of  aveng- 
ing] hatred  being  heaped  together,  neither  demons  nor 
gods  will  be  willing  to  spare  you. 

Now  as  the  husband  must  certainly  live  harmoniously 
with  his  wife,  so  must  the  wife  still  more  esteem  her  hus- 
band. You  ought  to  know  that  the  husband  is  the  wife’s 
heaven  ! and  that  to  be  mild  and  flexible  is  the  most 
important  duty  of  womankind  ! In  every  circumstance 
that  may  happen,  you  must  [meekly]  submit  to  your  hus- 
band’s commands  ; you  may  not  rebelliously  oppose  him. 
Even  should  it  so  happen  that  your  husband  is  [mani- 
festly] in  the  wrong,  still  you  must  restrain  your  feelings, 
and  bear  with  patience  ; only  good-naturedly  admonish- 


* These  are  poetical  expressions  denoting  the  harmony  which 
accompanies,  or  ought  to  accompany,  marriage. 


HARMGaV  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  3_’5 

ing  him,  and  [by  behaving  so]  you  will  [show  yourself] 
to  be  A good  woman.  I have  constantly  seen  the  wo- 
men of  the  present  time  [cursed  with]  dispositions  harsh 
and  violent,  haughty  and  puffed  up  with  self-importance  ; 
if  anything  occur  that  does  not  exactly  jump  with  their 
humor,  then  they  commence  to  speak  loudly  and  to  bawl 
out ; going  even  to  the  length  of  cursing  and  abusing 
(people);  wishing  to  strike  and  desiring  to  be  uproarious  ! 
(These  ladies)  either  relying  upon  their  mothers’  families 
being  wealthy  and  powerful,  or  depending  ujjon  their 
own  faces  being  beautiful  and  pretty,  or  madly  desiring 
to  be  rich,  and  scorning  their  husbands  because  they  are 
poor,  or  clandestinely  longing  after  the  illicit  pleasure  of 
some  handsome  gallant,  being  disgusted  with  the  coarse- 
ness and  plainness  of  their  partners  ; (such  ladies  I say) 
taking  their  husbands,  and  as  it  suits  their  pleasure,  thus 
insulting  and  abusing  them,  have  wandered  far  from  the 
path  of  woman’s  duty ! 

The  women  of  Yang-Chow,*  as  they  neither  rear  the 
silk-worm,  nor  weave  cloth,  ( allow ) the  sun  to  be  shi- 
ning high  (in  the  heavens)  while  they  have  not  yet  got 
out  of  bed.  Out  of  a single  head  of  hair,  they  make 
the  peony-flower  head-dress,  and  the  pyrus-flower  head- 
dress, the  head-dress  “ a la  two  dragons  playing  with 
the  pearl,”  the  head-dress  “ a la  two  phoenixes  thread- 
ing the  flowers,”  and  a great  many  other  names  besides.f 
They  comb  themselves  during  half  the  day,  they  look 
at  themselves  in  the  glass,  and  then  take  another  look  ; 


* The  author  was  a native  of  Yang-Chow. 

t What  would  the  worthy  author  say  were  he  to  witness  the  fash- 
ions of  the  Western  world  ? 


326 


SELECTIONS. 


till  evening  comes,  and  then  they  drink  their  wine  and 
( indulge  in  ) idle  talk,  and  sit  up  for  a length  of  time. 
If  their  husbands  have  plenty  of  money,  then  they  cut 
out  ( handsome  ) clothes,  and  purchase  ( showy  ) head- 
gear  ; they  know  not  in  the  slightest  degree  to  econ- 
omize ! if  their  husbands’  funds  be  scanty,  still  they 
must  have  mellow  wine  and  delicate  eating;  they  feel 
no  commiseration  ( for  their  extravagance,)  they  take 
no  delight  in  managing  their  houses  with  diligence  and 
economy ; they  only  like  to  live  well  and  to  work  la- 
zily ; as  regards  their  household  affairs,  they  go  not  to 
look  after  them,  they  ask  not  how  much  or  how  little  rice 
there  may  be  (in  the  store-room,)  they  know  not  whether 
the  price  of  fuel  be  high  or  low ; with  their  whole  hearts 
they  care  for  nothing  but  listless  ease  and  self-enjoyment, 
and  only  attend  to  what  is  before  their  very  eyes  ! And 
still  further,  there  is  a class  of  women,  who  take  pleasure 
in  rambling  among  the  hills,  and  going  to  see  reunions  ; 
who  enter  the  temples  ( of  bonzes  ) to  burn  incense,  so 
much  so  that  they  even  lean  against  the  door  posts  and 
chat  and  laugh  ; they  purchase  this,  and  they  buy  that ; 
they  smoke  tobacco  and  look  on  at  card-playing  ; they 
play  on  wind  instruments  and  on  stringed  instruments ; 
they  sing  and  they  chant ; in  short,  there  is  (no  wicked- 
ness) that  they  will  not  commit ! (alas,  for  such  women  !) 
ye  never  think  that  your  husbands  married  you  into  their 
families,  in  order  that  you  might  manage  their  house- 
hold, and  augment  their  estate  ; and  with  hearts  united 
(spend  a life  of)  harmony  together!  You  must  know 
that  when  your  husbands  go  abroad,  they  have  to  suffer 
many  storms  and  much  hoar-frost  ( i.  e.,  blasts  of  adver- 
sity) ; they  have  to  put  up  with  much  hardship  and  mis- 


HARMONY  BETWEEN  HUSBAND  AND  WIFE.  327 


ery,  striving  to  get  a little  money  and  food  and  raiment 
(for  you,)  while  you  are  living  comfortably  at  home,  well 
fed  and  (agreeably)  warm  ! If  (under  such  circumstan- 
ces) you  won’t  have  consideration  (for  his  property,)  but 
will  even  insist  on  throwing  it  away,  indulging  in  extrav- 
agant expenses  ; if  you  will  not  desire  to  learn  what  is 
good,  then  you  cause  that  your  husbands’  spirits  get  ex- 
hausted ( by  your  cravings,)  he  will  have  no  road  (z.  e., 
door)  of  escape  ; his  household  plans  ( i.  e.,  means  of 
support)  will  day  by  day  stand  upon  a more  feeble  founda- 
tion, and  when  the  latter  days  do  indeed  come,  his  affairs 
having  gone  to  wrreck  and  ruin,  all  manner  of  cold  and 
hunger,  of  hardship  and  suffering— all  these  it  will  be  your 
lot  to  go  to  suffer  (along  with  him!)  then,  although  you 
may  lament  and  repent,  yet  then  it  will  be  too  late ! It  will 
be  no  matter  of  wonder  if  your  husband  no  longer  loves 
you,  if  he  wishes  to  cast  you  off,  and  to  abhor  you  ! why 
even  the  old  and  young  of  your  own  family  will  wish 
you  dead,  the  sooner  the  better  ; your  relations  and 
friends,  when  they  know  of  it,  will  desire  your  speedy 
annihilation  ! there  is  no  one  who  will  not  talk  ill  of  you, 
every  one  will  spit  at  and  upbraid  you  : why  then  should 
you  make  of  yourself  a wicked  woman  of  the  kind  ? 

Moreover,  that  you  have  not  in  this  life  been  born  a 
male,  is  owing  to  your  amount  of  wickedness  in  a pre-' 
vious  state  of  existence  having  been  both  deep  and 
weighty  ; you  would  not  then  desire  to  adorn  [virtue,] 
to  heap  up  [good  actions]  and  learn  to  do  well;  so  that 
now  you  have  been  haplessly  born  a [ poor  ] female  ! 
And  if  you  do  not  this  second  time  speedily  amend 
your  faults,  this  amount  of  wickedness  [of  yours]  will  be 
getting  both  deeper  and  weightier,  so  that  it  is  to  be 


3-8 


SELECTIONS. 


feared,  in  the  next  stage  of  existence,  even  if  you  should 
wish  for  a male’s  body,*  yet  it  will  be  very  difficult  to 
get  it ! 

You  must  know,  “that  for  a woman  to  be  without 
talent,  is  a virtue  [ on  her  part !”  ] No  one  desires 
that  your  natural  should  be  intelligent  or  your  abilities 
of  a high  order  ; they  only  wish  that  your  disposition  be 
mild  and  obedient,  and  that  in  looking  after  [household] 
matters,  you  be  diligent  and  economical  ! they  further 
desire  that  you  do  not  disobey  and  contradict  your  father- 
in-law  or  mother-in-law,  and  that  you  do  not  insult  or 
upbraid  your  husband  ! and  they  still  further  desire  that 
you  should  not  offend,  or  cause  separation  among  your 
elder  brothers,  or  your  younger  brothers  ; and  that  you 
be  not  harsh  or  cruel  to  the  concubines  and  handmaids 
[of  your  household].  If  you  can  so  manage  matters  as 
to  assist  your  husband  in  forming  his  family,  and  setting 
up  a [respectable]  establishment,  not  only  will  your  hus- 
band respect  you  [for  so  doing]  but  beyond  that,  the 
father  and  mother  [that  you  left  behind  you]  in  your 
mother’s  home,  your  kindred  and  friends,  what  degree 
of  meritorious  glory  will  be  theirs  ; not  only  will  your 
husband,  your  sons,  and  your  daughters  enjoy  therefrom 
a deal  of  pleasure,  but  even  you  yourself  will  reap  much 
comfort : these  are  all  most  important  words  that  I am 
speaking  to  you,  ye  womankind  ; you  must  treasure 
them  up  in  your  memories  ; quickly  amend  and  repent, 
and  learn  to  do  well ; you  may  on  no  account  forget 
[these  admonitions.] 


* Here  is  a recognition  of  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  as 
taught  by  the  Budhists. 


HARMONY  BETWEEN  HUSEAND  AND  WIFE.  329 


If  the  husband  and  wife  live  harmoniously  together, 
then  indeed  will  the  breath  of  purity  pervade  your  dwell- 
ing, your  family  affairs  will  prosper  by  degrees,  and  every 
day  your  happiness  will  be  extreme  ! The  plan  by  which 
such  harmony  is  to  be  obtained  (is  none  other  than  this:) 
Ye  must  love  each  other  tenderly,  and  treat  each  other 
with  respect  as  if  you  were  strangers.  Thus  rich  and 
poor  must  reman  tranquil  among  themselves,  noble  and 
base  must  mutually  bear  and  forbear ! you  may  not  de- 
pend upon  your  family  having  heaped  up  great  wealth, 
and  for  that  reason  be  proud  and  haughty ; you  may  not 
rely  upon  your  personal  appearance  being  noble  and  dis- 
tingue, and  therefore  insult  and  abuse  people  ! even  when 
faults  occur  between  husband  and  wife,  both  parties  must 
cover  these  (as  with  a mantle,)  must  make  allowances, 
and  bear  with  patience ! ye  should  take  great  pains  to  in- 
struct and  admonish  each  other,  to  cause  (the  party  in 
wrong)  to  give  ear  (to  reason,)  and  to  adopt  what  is  right ; 
ye  may  not  give  way  to  your  temper,  and  storm  and  get 
angry  1 The  Book  of  Odes  says,  “ Keep  your  house  in 
proper  order,  and  your  wife  and  children  will  be  happy ! ” 
This  is  a text  which  it  would  be  right  for  husbands  to  re- 
cite every  day.  And  Mencius  says,  (“Ye  woman!)  you 
must  respect  (your  father-in-law,  mother-in-law,  etc.,  etc., 
etc.)  and  guard  against  (doing  what  is  wrong;)  oppose 
not  your  husbands  ! ” 

Wives  ! ye  cannot  but  impress  these  words  on  your 
memories.  For  the  male  to  be  firm,  and  the  female  to 
be  flexible,  is  what  reason  points  out  as  a proper  rule. 
But  in  this  world  you  constantly  meet  with  a class  of  hus- 
bands, who  (foolishly)  love,  and  (too  much)  respect  their 
wives,  as  if  they  were  more  honorable  or  superior  (to  them- 


SELECTIONS. 


33° 

selves !)  if  anything  occur,  they  are  afraid  to  go  before 
them  ; and  thus  the  woman  becomes  “the  roaring  lioness 
of  Ho-tung,”  or  “the  female  fowl  that  announces  the  morn- 
ing ! ” * Such  is  by  no  means  a happy  omen  in  a family. 


* This  phrase  is  taken  from  the  Shoo-King,  and  applies  to  the 
infamous  Chow-Wang,  being  governed  by  his  no  less  infamous 
wife.  For  the  female  bird  to  crow  in  the  morning  is,  of  course,  to 
usurp  her  consort’s  prerogative. 


v 


THOUSAND  CHARACTER  CLASSIC. 


33* 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  THOUSAND  CHARAC- 
TER CLASSIC. 

This  is  the  second  book  put  into  the  hands  of  pupils 
in  the  schools.  It  contains  one  thousand  characters,  or 
words,  no  two  of  which  are  the  same. 

We  borrow  from  a translation  found  in  the  Chinese  Re- 
positoryVol.  IV. 

Now  this  our  human  body  is  endowed  with  four  great 
powers  and  five  cardinal  virtues  : 

Preserve  with  reverence  what  your  parents  nourished, 

How  can  you  dare  to  destroy  or  injure  it  ? 

Let  females  guard  their  chastity  and  purity  ; 

And  let  men  imitate  the  talented  and  virtuous. 

When  you  know  your  own  errors,  then  reform  ; 

And  when  you  have  made  acquaintances,  do  not  lose 
them  ; 

Forbear  to  complain  of  the  defects  of  the  people  ; 

And  cease  to  rely  (too  much)  on  your  own  superiority. 

Let  your  truth  be  such  as  may  be  verified  ; 

And  your  capacities,  as  to  be  measured  with  difficulty. 

Mih,  seeing  (he  white  silk  threads  colored,  wept : 

And  the  ode  praises  the  pure  fleeces  of  the  lambs. 


332 


SELECTIONS. 


Observe  and  imitate  the  conduct  of  the  virtuous ; 

And  command  your  thoughts,  that  you  may  become 
wise. 

Your  virtue  once  fixed,  your  reputation  will  be  estab- 
lished : 

Your  habits  once  rectified,  your  example  wilLbe  cor- 
rect. 

Sounds  are  reverberated  in  the  deep  valleys ; 

And  are  reechoed  through  the  vacant  halls  : 

Even  so  misery  is  the  recompense  of  accumulated  vice; 

And  happiness  the  reward  of  illustrious  virtue. 

A foot  of  precious  jade  stone  is  not  to  be  valued; 

But  for  an  inch  of  time  you  ought  earnestly  to  contend. 

In  aiding  a father,  and  in  serving  a prince, 

Are  alike  required  both  gravity  and  respect. 

The  duty  of  filial  piety  demands  every  energy ; 

And  fidelity  to  one’s  prince  extends  even  to  a sacrifice 
of  life : 

Be  watchful,  as  though  near  an  abyss  or  walking  on  ice, 

Always  rising  early  to  attend  to  the  comforts  of  your 
parents ; 

Then  your  virtue  will  rival  the  Epidendrum  in  fra- 
grance ; 

And  in  rich  exuberance,  be  like  the  luxuriant  pine ; 

In  constancy,  it  will  resemble  the  overflowing  stream ; 

And  in  purity,  the  waters  of  the  limpid,  unruffled  lake. 

Let  your  deportment  be  always  grave  and  thoughtful, 

And  your  conversation  calm  and  decided  : 

Close  attention  at  the  commencement  is  truly  admira- 
ble; 

Assiduity  to  the  end  is  equally  becoming  and  excel- 
lent : 


THOUSAND  CHARACTER  CLASSIC. 


333 


Such  conduct  is  the  basis  of  every  glorious  profession ; 

Its  praises  are  great,  and  without  limit. 

Excel  in  learning,  and  you  will  ascend  to  official  sta- 
tion, 

Obtain  rank,  and  be  charged  with  the  affairs  of  govern- 
ment : 

Then  your  memory  will  be  cherished  like  the  sweet 
pear  tree ; 

And  when  you  are  gone  it  will  be  treasured  up  in  song. 

Music  has  distinctions  for  the  noble  and  the  ignoble ; 

Different  rules  of  decorum  mark  superiors  and  infe- 
riors. 

Let  superiors  live  in  harmony,  and  inferiors  in  concord: 

As  when  the  husband  sings,  the  wife  joins  in  chorus. 

Abroad,  let  the  teacher’s  instructions  be  duly  heeded  ; 

At  home,  let  maternal  counsels  be  strictly  regarded. 

All  the  children  of  your  uncles  and  aunts 

Should  be  treated  as  your  own  sons  and  daughters. 

Ardently  love  your  elder  and  younger  brothers, 

Who  are  of  the  same  blood  and  lineage  with  yourself. 

Associates  must  enjoy  each  other’s  affections, 

Cutting,  grinding,  and  paring  off  each  other’s  excres- 
cences. 

Benevolence,  tenderness,  commiseration,  and  sympa- 
thy, 

Must  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be  relinquished. 

Consistency,  justice,  purity,  and  humility  should  not, 

Even  in  times  of  great  revolution,  be  neglected. 

If  the  disposition  be  gentle,  the  passions  will  be  tran- 
quil ; 

But  if  the  mind  is  agitated,  the  spirit  becomes  ex- 
hausted. 


334 


SELECTIONS. 


If  you  seek  for  realities,  your  desires  will  be  fulfilled  : 
If  you  indulge  undue  expectations,  your  wishes  will  be 
frustrated. 

Firmness  of  resolution,  and  steadiness  of  purpose, 
Will  certainly  secure  to  you  official  dignity. 

Among  the  royal  cities  of  the  elegant  and  great  nation, 
Are  the  two  capitals,  the  eastern  and  the  western. 
Behind  the  one  is  the  hill  Mang ; before  it,  the  river 
LG: 

Around  the  other  are  the  rapid  Wei  and  the  meander- 
ing King. 

Numberless  and  intricate  are  the  halls  and  palaces; 
Lofty  and  commanding  are  the  towers  and  galleries. 
Within  them  are  paintings  of  beasts  and  birds  ; 

And  representations  of  deities  and  immortals. 
Splendid  apartments  are  opened  out  on  either  side  ; 
And  on  parallel  rows  of  pillars,  pavilions  are  supported. 
There  are  placed  the  seats  for  the  imperial  banquets, 
And  are  heard  the  stringed  and  wind  instruments  of 
music. 

Ascending  the  steps,  and  standing  on  the  terraces, 

Is  a waving  sea  of  official  caps,  numerous  as  the  stars. 
On  the  right,  you  pass  to  the  “ wide  inner  hall 
On  the  left  is  the  entrance  to  the  “ splendid  chamber.” 
There  are  collected  the  most  ancient  books  and  rec- 
ords ; 

And  crowds  of  illustrious  men  are  always  assembled. 
******* 

The  foundation  of  family  aggrandizement  lies  in  hus- 
bandry : 

Give  good  attention,  therefore,  to  sowing  and  to  reap- 


THOUSAND  CHARACTER  CLASSIC. 


335 


Commence  your  labors  on  the  southern  fields  ; 

For  it  is  there  we  must  first  sow  our  grain. 

Taxes  are  paid  in  ripe  grain;  tribute,  in  the  first  fruits. 

Let  the  laborers  be  encouraged  and  rewarded,  the 
indolent  held  back,  (or  degraded)  and  the  industrious 
brought  forward. 

Mang  Ko  (Mencius)  esteemed  plainness  and  simplic- 
ity ; 

And  Yu,  the  historian,  held  firmly  to  rectitude. 

These  nearly  approached  the  golden  medium — 

Being  laborious,  humble,  diligent,  and  moderate. 

Listen  to  what  is  said,  and  investigate  the  principles 
explained ; 

Examine  men’s  conduct,  that  you  may  distinguish  their 
characters  ; 

Leave  behind  you  none  but  purposes  of  good  ; 

And  strive  to  act  in  such  a manner  as  to  command  re- 
spect. 

When  satirized  and  admonished,  examine  yourself, 

And  do  this  the  more  thoroughly  when  favors  increase. 

Delight  in  reading  and  in  studying  the  books  found  in 
the  market ; 

When  you  find  new  ones,  diligently  treasure  up  their 
contents. 

Be  very  cautious  of  speaking  hastily  or  rashly, 

For  even  to  the  walls  of  your  apartment  ears  may  be 
attached. 

Always  provide  plain  food  for  your  meals, 

Thus  pleasing  the  palate  and  satisfying  the  appetite. 

Those  who  feed  luxuriously  loathe  rich  viands, 

While  the  hungry'  disdain  not  dregs  and  husks. 


33^ 


SELECTIONS. 


Even  among  kindred  deference  is  due  to  the  aged  ; 

And  food  for  the  old  and  young  should  be  different. 

******* 

In  epistolary  correspondence  be  concise,  speaking 
to  the  point ; 

And  in  verbal  answers  be  discreet  and  explicit. 

When  a person  is  unclean,  he  bethinks  himself  of  the 
bath  ; 

When  one  takes  hold  of  hot  things,  he  desires  some- 
thing cooling. 

The  asses  and  the  mules,  the  calves  and  the  cows, 

When  they  are  frightened,  leap  about  and  flee  away. 

Thieves  and  robbers  are  to  be  punished  with  death ; 

Rebels  and  deserters  are  to  be  pursued  and  taken. 

^ ^ •¥?  •}£  ^ ^ 

Years  fly  away  like  arrows,  one  pushing  on  another; 

The  sun  shines  brightly  through  his  whole  course, 

The  planetarium  where  it  is  suspended  constantly  re- 
volves ; 

And  the  bright  moon  also  repeats  her  revolutions. 

To  support  fire,  add  fuel ; so  cultivate  the  root  of  hap- 
piness, 

And  you  will  obtain  eternal  peace  and  endless  felicity. 

Let  your  step  be  even,  and  keep  your  head  erect ; 

And  looking  up  or  down,  maintain  the  respectful  de- 
meanor of  courts  and  temples  ; 

Let  your  dress  be  complete,  and  your  deportment  se- 
date, 

Sustaining  a modest,  retiring,  unobtrusive  manner. 


EXAMPLES  OF  FILIAL  DUTY. 


337 


EXAMPLES  OF  FILIAL  DUTY* 

In  the  Chow  dynasty  lived  Chung  Yew,  named  also 
Tszeloo,  who,  because  his  family  was  poor,  usually  ate 
herbs  and  coarse  pulse,  and  he  also  went  more  than  a 
hundred  If  to  procure  rice  for  his  parents. 

“‘Alas!’  said  Tszeloo,  ‘although  I was  a scholar,  yet 
my  parents  were  poor,  and  how  was  I to  nourish  them  ? ’ 
Exhausted,  he  traveled  the  long  road,  and  cheerfully 
brought  the  rice  for  his  parents.  Pleasantly  he  endured 
the  toil,  and  exerted  his  utmost  strength  without  any 
commendation.  At  that  time,  his  lot  in  life  was  hard 
and  unfortunate,  and  he  little  expected  the  official  honors 
he  afterwards  enjoyed.  But  when  his  parents  were  dead 
and  he  had  become  rich  and  honorable,  enjoying  all  the 
luxuries  of  life,  then  he  was  unhappy  and  discontented ; 
not  cheerful,  as  in  the  days  of  his  poverty,  nor  happy,  as 
when  he  ministered  to  his  parents’  wants.” 


* From  the  “Twenty-four  Examples  of  Filial  Duty” — one 
of  a class  of  works  styled  “juvenile”  or  “toy  books.”  — Chi- 
nese Repository,  Vol.  VI. 

15 


338 


SELECTIONS. 


During  the  Han  dynasty  lived  Tung  Yung,  whose 
family  was  so  very  poor  that  when  his  father  died,  he 
was  obliged  to  sell  himself  in  order  to  procure  money 
to  bury  his  remains. 

“ Tung  could  not  endure  to  behold  his  father’s  bones 
lie  exposed,  but  to  bury  them  he  had  not  the  requisite 
means.  He  saw  that  his  household  goods  were  not  suf- 
ficient, and  he  said,  ‘ This  little  body,  what  is  the  use  of‘ 
it  ? If  I sell  my  body,  I can  redeem  it  again  ; and  thus 
can  bury  my  father,  who  will  not  be  dishonored.’  His 
filial  piety  moved  Heaven  to  direct  a female,  in  a super- 
human form,  to  come  and  help  him  in  fulfilling  his  en- 
gagement; she  wove  three  hundred  pieces  of  silk,  and 
thus  procured  the  redemption  of  a man  of  truly  filial 
heart.” 


In  the  time  of  the  Han  dynasty  lived  Keang  Kih,  who, 
when  young,  lost  his  father,  and  afterwards  lived  alone 
with  his  mother.  Times  of  commotion  arising,  which 
caused  them  much  distress,  he  took  his  mother  on  his 
back,  and  fled. 

“ Passing  over  the  hills  and  wading  through  the 
streams,  he  carried  his  mother  with  much  difficulty.  It 
was  during  a year  of  famine,  when  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land  were  in  confusion  from  the  scarcity  of  food,  and 
engagements  were  frequent  between  the  soldiers  and 
banditti,  and  signal  fires  were  lighted  on  the  high  hills. 
Keang  was  fearful  lest  the  robbers  should  meet  him  on 
the  road  and  plunder  him,  and  they  did  seize  him,  re- 
gardless of  his  cries  and  tears,  and  were  about  to  rob 
him ; but  when  they  knew  of  his  filial  piety  and  affection 


EXAMPLES  OF  FILIAL  DUTY. 


339 


to  his  mother,  they  permitted  him  to  proceed.  While 
journeying,  he  was  too  poor  to  procure  any  food  beyond 
the  bare  necessaries  of  life ; and  because  he  could  not 
provide  comforts  and  delicacies  for  his  mother,  he  was 
grieved  as  if  it  had  been  his  fault.  He  went  and  hired 
himself  to  labor;  with  the  greatest  diligence  he  adhered  to 
his  purpose  to  sustain  his  mother ; and  soon  the  stranger 
obtained  an  abundance  of  food  and  clothing.  His  suc- 
cess caused  his  mother  to  rejoice,  and  they  were  both 
delighted,  she  forgetting  her  former  hardships  in  the  joy 
that  filled  her  bosom.” 


In  the  Han  dynasty  lived  Hwang  Heiing,  who,  when 
only  nine  years  old,  lost  his  mother,  whom  he  loved  so 
ardently  and  remembered  so  strongly  that  all  the  vil- 
lagers praised  his  filial  duty.  He  was  employed  in  the 
severest  toil,  and  served  his  father  with  entire  obedience. 

“ When  the  heat  of  summer  made  it  difficult  to  sleep 
quietly,  the  lad  knew  what  would  be  for  the  comfort  of 
his  venerated  parent.  Taking  a fan,  he  slowly  waved  it 
about  the  silken  curtains,  and  the  cool  air  expanding, 
enveloped  and  filled  the  pillows  and  bed.  In  winter, 
when  the  snow  threatened  to  crush  in  the  roof,  and  the 
fierce  wind  shook  the  fences,  and  the  cold  penetrated  to 
the  bones,  making  it  hazardous  to  unloose  the  girdle, 
then  Heang  warmed  his  father’s  bed,  that  he  might  not 
fear,  because  of  the  cold,  to  enter  the  ‘ place  of  dreams.’  ” 


During  the  Han  dynasty  lived  Ting-Lan,  whose  pa- 
rents both  died  when  he  was  young,  before  he  could  obey 


34° 


SELECTIONS. 


and  support  them;  and  he  reflected  that  for  all  the 
trouble  and  anxiety  he  had  caused  them,  no  recompense 
had  yet  been  given.  He  then  carved  wooden  images  of 
his  parents,  and  served  them  as  if  they  had  been  alive. 

“ He  remembers  his  parents,  but  cannot  see  them ; he 
carved  wood  to  represent  their  persons.  He  believes 
that  their  spirits  are  now  the  same  as  when  they  were 
alive,  and  his  guileless  heart  trusts  that  their  manes  have 
entered  the  carved  images.  He  cannot  rest  until  he  has 
made  their  statues,  so  strong  is  his  desire  to  nourish  and 
reverence  them.  He  now  reveres  them,  although  dead, 
as  if  they  were  alive ; and  hopes  that  they  will  conde- 
scend to  inhabit  his  ancestral  hall.” 


During  the  Han  dynasty  lived  Tsae  Shun,  whose 
father  died  when  he  was  young,  and  who  served  his 
mother  very  dutifully.  It  happened  that,  during  the 
troubles  of  the  times,  when  Wang-mang  was  plotting  to 
usurp  the  throne,  there  were  years  of  scarcity',  in  which 
he  could  not  procure  food,  and  Tsae  was  compelled  to 
gather  mulberries,  which  he  assorted,  putting  them  into 
two  vessels. 

“Anxious  and  fearful,  he  seeks  for  food;  unremitting 
in  his  exertions,  he  takes  up  his  baskets,  and  wends  his 
way  to  the  distant  forest,  and  penetrated  into  the  thicket, 
where  he  finds  many  mulberry  trees.  His  hunger  now 
has  something  to  satisfy  its  cravings ; he  also  remembers 
his  mother,  and  that  he  must  carry  some  to  her.  The 
ripe  and  unripe  berries  he  does  not  put  together,  but 
divides  them,  so  that  mother  and  son  can  each  have 


EXAMPLES  OF  FILIAL  DUTY. 


341 


their  proper  portion.  The  chieftain  heard  of  his  con- 
duct, and  highly  praised  him,  conferring  a gift  upon  him, 
and  speaking  of  his  filial  piety  to  all  around.  Taking 
up  his  rice  and  flesh,  Tsae  returned  home  to  his  mother 
with  the  provision ; and  in  joy,  they  even  forgot  that  the 
year  was  one  of  dearth.” 


During  the  Tsin  dynasty  lived  Wang  Tseang,  who 
early  lost  his  mother,  and  his  stepmother,  Choo,  had  no 
affection  for  him.  His  mother  was  in  the  habit  of  eating 
fresh  fish  at  her  meals,  but  winter  coming,  the  ice  bound 
up  the  rivers. 

“ The  river  is  firmly  bound  up  by  ice,  and  the  fish  are 
hidden  in  their  deep  retreats.  Perturbed  and  anxious, 
Wang  goes  out  to  seek  the  fish,  apparently  forgetting  that 
it  was  winter.  His  determination  is  irrevocable,  and 
although  it  is  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  he  will  go.  He  was 
not  dismayed  at  the  coldness  of  the  snow,  nor  terrified 
at  the  fierceness  of  the  winds.  Even  the  wicked  spirits 
were  intimidated  from  injuring  him,  and  durst  not  mo- 
lest him.  If  metals  and  stones  can  be  opened,  shall  ice 
be  considered  too  difficult  to  rive  ? The  frisking  fish  came 
upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  obedient  to  the  hand  of 
him  who  would  take  them  out.  A thousand  ages  can- 
not efface  [the  remembrance  of]  the  crack  in  the  ice, 
nor  obliterate  the  fragrant  traces  of  so  worthy  an  action.” 


In  the  Sung  dynasty  lived  Choo  Showchang,  whose 
mother  Lew,  when  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  because 


342 


SELECTIONS. 


she  was  hated  by  his  father’s  wife,  left  the  family  ; and 
mother  and  son  did  not  see  each  other  for  about  fifty 
years. 

“ Thus  Choo  exclaimed  : ‘ I have  a mother,  but  alas  ! 
separated,  we  abide  in  different  villages.  It  was  not  the 
free  will  of  my  mother  which  led  her  thus  to  forsake  her 
son,  but  the  envious  mistress  compelled  her  to  go.  With- 
out a mother,  on  whom  shall  I rely,  and  to  whom  pour 
out  my  sorrows  and  cares  ? Now  I am  grown  older,  and 
have  become  an  officer,  but  as  yet  I have  not  been  able 
to  recompense  the  kindness  of  my  parent.  In  what  place 
among  all  the  countries  under  heaven,  does  she  live  ? I 
am  determined  to  resign  my  office,  and  seek  her  abode, 
not  deterred  at  the  trouble  of  the  search.  To  effect  it, 
I will  part  from  my  family,  and  no  longer  be  a compan- 
ion with  them.  I will  not  return  till  I find  my  mother, 
and  they  need  not  wait  in  expectation  of  me  ! ’ Heaven 
directed  his  way,  and  he  came  into  Tung-chow,  where 
she  resided.  When  the  mother  and  son  met  each  other, 
joy  and  grief  together  arose ; for  they  had  been  separ- 
ated for  fifty  years,  mourning  because  they  were  so  far 
apart.  But  now  in  one  hour,  all  their  long  accumulated 
griefs  were  disburthened,  and  joy  and  gladness  filled 
their  hearts.  Choo  possesses  the  true  heavenly  disposi- 
tion, and  honors  and  riches  cannot  destroy  his  affection 
for  his  mother.  He  is  more  worthy  of  being  praised  than 
Wang-ling  or  Hwan-heaou.” 


In  the  reign  of  Yuen-yew  of  the  Sung  dynasty,  Hwang- 
Ting-keen  filled  the  office  of  prefect.  He  was  of  a very 
dutiful  disposition,  and  although  he  was  honorable  and 


EXAMPLES  OF  FILIAL  DUTY. 


343 


renowned,  yet  he  received  his  mother’s  commands  with 
the  utmost  deference. 

“ Well  written  poetry  flows  along  like  rills  meandering 
among  the  hills  and  valleys ! This  instance  of  a filial 
heart  has  not  yet  been  brought  into  much  notice.  Daily 
he  washed  his  parents’  furniture  ; and  both  she  who  dwelt 
in  the  curtained  room,  (his  mother)  and  he  who  remained 
in  the  hall,  (his  father)  strove  to  express  the  merits  of  their 
son.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  another  child  that 
would  have  done  so ; all  would  be  dilatory  and  unwilling, 
and  where  shall  we  meet  another  who  would  perform 
such  drudgery  themselves  with  alacrity  and  pleasure? 
Although  elevated  to  an  honorable  position,  he  does  not 
hesitate  to  perform  those  troublesome  and  minute  duties, 
for  he  loves  his  parents : how  can  we  suppose  that  he 
will  change  from  what  he  was  when  young  and  unhon- 
ored 1 ” 


344 


SELECTIONS. 


CHINESE  MORAL  MAXIMS.* 

Though  the  good  man  be  plunged  in  want,  his  virtue 
still  remains  to  him. 

The  poverty  of  others  is  not  to  be  ridiculed,  for  the 
decrees  of  destiny  are  in  the  end  equal ; nor  are  the  in- 
firmities of  age  a fit  subject  for  laughter,  since  they  must 
at  last  be  the  portion  of  us  all. 

Though  the  white  gem  be  cast  into  the  dirt,  its  purity 
cannot  be  (lastingly)  sullied ; though  the  good  man  live 
in  a vile  place,  his  heart  cannot  be  depraved. 

If  you  do  not  entreat  their  assistance,  all  men  will  ap- 
pear good  natured  ; if  you  do  not  want  to  drink,  it  makes 
little  difference  whether  the  wine  be  dear  or  cheap. 

It  is  not  easy  to  stop  the  fire,  when  the  water  is  at  a 
far  distance : friends  at  hand  are  better  than  relatives 
afar  off. 

There  are  only  three  great  rules  to  be  observed  by 
those  who  hold  public  situations,  viz  : To  be  upright,  to 
be  circumspect,  to  be  diligent.  Those  who  know  these 
three  rules,  know  that  by  which  they  will  insure  their 
own  safety  in  office. 


* Taken  from  a work  compiled  by  John  Francis  Davis,  F.R.S., 
China,  1823. 


CHINESE  MORAL  MAXIMS. 


345 


A man’s  prosperous  or  declining  condition,  may  be 
gathered  from  the  proportion  of  his  waking  to  his  sleep- 
ing hours.  Unsullied  poverty  is  always  happy,  while  im- 
pure wealth  brings  with  it  many  sorrows. 

The  fame  of  men’s  good  actions  seldom  goes  beyond 
their  own  doors ; but  their  evil  deeds  are  carried  to  a 
thousand  miles’  distance.* 

The  sincerity  of  him  who  assents  to  everything  must 
be  small  ; and  he  who  praises  you  inordinately  to  your 
face  must  be  altogether  false. 

Petty  distinctions  are  injurious  to  rectitude ; quibbling 
words  violate  right  reason. 

Though  powerful  medicines  be  nauseous  to  the  taste, 
they  are  good  for  the  disease ; though  candid  advice  be 
unpleasant  to  the  ear,  it  is  profitable  for  the  conduct. 

To  show  compassion  toward  the  people  by  remitting 
the  severity  of  the  taxes,  is  the  virtue  of  the  prince  ; and 
to  offer  up  their  possessions,  sinking  their  private  views 
in  regard  for  the  public,  is  the  duty  of  the  people. 

The  advantages  of  wise  institutions  can  be  sought  for 
only  in  an  inflexible  observance  of  them. 

If  a man  does  not  receive  guests  at  home,  he  will 
meet  with  very  few  hosts  abroad. 

There  are  plenty  of  acquaintances  in  the  world,  but 
very  few  real  friends. 

The  evidence  of  others  is  not  comparable  to  personal 
experience  ; nor  is  “ I heard,”  so  good  as  “ I saw.” 

We  should  make  it  the  business  of  our  lives  to  control 


* “ The  evil  which  men  do  lives  after  them  ; 

The  good  is  oft  interred  with  their  bones.” 

— Shakspeare. 


346 


SELECTIONS. 


our  temper ; and  whenever  we  find  it  becoming  unruly, 
that  instant  bring  it  into  order. 

Wisdom,  virtue,  benevolence,  and  rectitude,  without 
politeness,  are  imperfect. 

The  dread  of  punishments  is  the  best  method  of 
avoiding  them. 

It  is  better  to  believe  that  a man  does  possess  good 
qualities  than  to  assert  that  he  does  not. 

As  it  is  impossible  to  please  men  in  all  things,  our 
only  care  should  be  to  satisfy  our  own  consciences. 

A man’s  countenance  is  a sufficient  index  of  his  pros- 
perity or  adversity,  without  asking  him  any  questions. 

Adversity  is  necessary  to  the  development  of  men’s 
virtues.* 

It  is  too  late  to  pull  the  rein  when  the  horse  has  gained 
the  brink  of  a precipice  ; the  time  for  stopping  the  leak 
is  passed,  when  the  vessel  is  in  the  midst  of  the  river. 

The  scholar  is  acquainted  with  all  things,  without  the 
trouble  of  going  out  of  doors. 

Those  who  respect  themselves,  will  be  honorable  ; but 
he  who  thinks  lightly  of  himself,  will  be  held  cheap  by 
the  world. 

Great  promises  are  not  followed  by  corresponding  ac- 
tions. 

As  the  behavior  of  the  world  toward  men  of  learning 
is  respectful,  learned  men  should  have  a due  respect  for 
themselves. 

Expel  pernicious  doctrines,  that  the  true  code  may  be 
duly  honored. 

If  the  stream  be  not  confined,  it  will  soon  flow  away 


* “ Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity.” — S/iakspeare. 


CHINESE  MORAL  MAXIMS. 


347 


and  become  dry ; if  wealth  be  not  economized,  there 
will  be  no  limits  to  its  expenditure,  and  it  will  soon  be 
wasted. 

It  is  easy  to  convince  a wise  man ; but  to  reason  with 
a fool  is  a difficult  undertaking. 

To  meet  an  old  friend  in  a distant  country  may  be 
compared  to  the  delightfulness  of  rain  after  a long 
drought. 

Speak  of  men’s  virtues  as  if  they  were  your  own,  and 
of  their  vices  as  if  you  were  liable  to  their  punishment. 

The  slow  horse  is  fated  to  receive  the  lash ; the  worth- 
less man  will  ultimately  get  his  deserts. 

Inattention  to  minute  actions  will  ultimately  be  preju- 
dicial to  a man’s  virtue. 

Though  a poor  man  should  live  in  the  midst  of  a 
noisy  market,  no  one  will  ask  about  him ; though  a rich 
man  should  bury  himself  among  the  mountains,  his  rela- 
tions will  come  to  him  from  a distance. 

Knowledge  is  boundless ; but  the  capacity  of  one  man 
is  limited. 

Plausible  words  are  not  so  good  as  straightforward 
conduct. 

A single  conversation  across  the  table  with  a wise  man, 
is  better  than  ten  years’  mere  study  of  books. 

Virtue  is  the  surest  road  to  longevity ; but  vice  meets 
with  an  early  doom. 

The  spontaneous  gifts  of  Heaven  are  of  high  value ; 
but  the  strength  of  perseverance  gains  the  prize. 

In  the  days  of  affluence,  always  think  of  poverty ; do 
not  let  want  come  upon  you,  and  make  you  remember 
with  sorrow  the  time  of  plenty. 

Prevention  is  better  than  cure. 


34§ 


SELECTIONS. 


Modesty  is  attended  with  profit ; arrogance  brings  on 
destruction. 

It  is  equally  criminal  in  the  governor  and  the  governed, 
to  violate  the  laws. 

Meeting  with  difficulties,  we  think  of  our  relations  ; on 
the  brink  of  danger,  we  rely  on  our  friends. 

Do  not  love  idleness  and  hate  labor ; do  not  be  dili- 
gent in  the  beginning,  and  in  the  end  lazy. 

The  mulberry  slip  follows  its  youthful  bent. 

He  who  can  suppress  a moment’s  anger  will  prevent 
lasting  sorrow. 

Better  to  be  upright  with  poverty,  than  depraved  with 
an  abundance. 

The  man  of  worth  is  really  great  without  being  proud ; 
the  mean  man  is  proud,  without  being  really  great. 

Do  not  anxiously  hope  for  what  is  not  yet  come  ; do 
not  vainly  regret  what  is  already  past. 

Water  must  be  kept  in  by  dykes  ; the  passions  must 
be  ruled  by  the  laws  of  propriety. 

If  you  have  fields,  and  will  not  plow  them,  your  barns 
will  be  empty ; if  you  have  books,  and  will  not  give  in- 
struction, your  offspring  will  be  ignorant. 

When  you  are  happier  than  usual,  you  ought  to  be  pre- 
pared against  some  great  misfortune  ; living  in  peace, 
you  should  think  of  danger. 

When  the  mirror  is  highly  polished,  the  dust  will  not 
defile  it ; when  the  heart  is  enlightened  with  wisdom, 
licentious  vices  will  not  arise  in  it. 

Forming  resentments  with  mankind  may  be  called 
“ planting  misery.” 

In  enacting  laws,  rigor  is  indispensable  ; in  executing 
them,  mercy. 


CHINESE  MORAL  MAXIMS. 


349 


Do  not  consider  any  vice  as  trivial,  and  therefore  prac- 
tice it ; do  not  consider  any  virtue  as  unimportant,  and 
therefore  neglect  it. 

If  man’s  desires  and  wishes  be  laudable,  Heaven  will 
certainly  further  them. 

Following  virtue  is  like  ascending  a steep ; following 
vice,  like  rushing  down  a precipice. 

Those  who  have  discharged  their  duties  as  children, 
will  in  their  turn  have  dutiful  children  of  their  own. 

He  who  tells  me  of  my  faults  is  my  teacher  ■ he  who 
tells  me  of  my  virtues  does  me  harm. 

Let  your  words  be  few,  and  your  companions  select : 
thus  you  will  avoid  remorse  and  repentance  ; thus  you 
will  avoid  sorrow  and  shame. 

If  a man’s  wishes  be  few,  his  health  will  be  flourish- 
ing ; if  he  has  many  anxious  thoughts,  his  constitution 
will  decay. 

Honors  come  by  diligence  ; riches  spring  from  econo- 
my. 

If  you  wish  to  know  what  most  engages  a man’s 
thoughts,  you  have  only  to  listen  to  his  conversation. 

Do  not  rely  upon  your  wealth  to  oppress  the  poor  ; do 
not  trust  to  your  power  and  station  to  vex  the  orphan 
and  widow. 

Draw  near  to  the  virtuous,  that  their  virtue  may  be  im- 
parted to  you  ; flee  away  from  the  vicious,  that  misfor- 
tune may  be  kept  far  from  you. 

Propagate  good  instruction,  to  correct  men’s  vices  ; 
part  with  your  wealth,  to  effect  men’s  happiness. 

If  a man  be  not  enlightened  within,  what  lamp  shall 
he  light  ? If  his  intentions  are  not  upright,  what  pray- 
ers shall  he  repeat  ? 


35° 


SELECTIONS. 


Throughout  life,  beware  of  performing  acts  of  animos- 
ity ; worthless  men  will  always  suffer  rubs  from  others 
as  bad  as  themselves. 

The  duration  of  wealth  ill-gotten,  is  as  that  of  snow 
on  which  hot  water  is  poured  ; the  possession  of  lands  im- 
properly obtained,  endures  as  long  as  the  sands  heaped 
up  by  the  waves. 

The  best  cure  for  drunkenness  is,  whilst  sober,  to  ob- 
serve a drunken  man. 

When  you  put  on  your  clothes,  remember  the  labor  of 
the  weaver  ; when  you  eat  your  daily  bread,  think  of  the 
hardships  of  the  husbandman. 

Would  you  understand  the  character  of  the  prince, 
examine  his  ministers  ; would  you  know  the  disposition 
of  any  man,  look  at  his  companions  ; would  you  know 
that  of  the  father,  look  at  his  son. 


APOTHEMS  AND  PROVERBS. 


351 


APOTHEMS  AND  PROVERBS* 

If  the  blind  lead  the  blind  they  will  both  go  into  the 
pit. 

Misfortunes  proceed  from  the  mouth,  and  by  the  mouth 
diseases  enter. 

A fair  wind  raises  no  storm. 

The  error  of  a thought  the  regret  of  a whole  life. 

A little  impatience  subverts  great  undertakings. 

Vast  chasms  can  be  filled  ; the  heart  of  man  is  never 
satisfied. 

Diseases  may  be  healed,  but  fate  cannot  be  remedied. 

The  body  may  be  healed,  but  the  mind  is  incurable. 

Instruction  pervades  the  heart  of  the  wise,  but  cannot 
penetrate  the  ears  of  a fool. 

A man  may  be  deprived  of  life,  but  a good  name  can- 
not be  taken  from  him. 

The  extreme  of  joy  is  the  beginning  of  sorrow. 

Every  man  sees  the  faults  of  others,  but  cannot  dis- 
cern his  own. 


* From  Notitia  Linguae  Sinicas ; translated  from  Chinese  into 
French,  by  Premare  ; and  from  French  into  English,  by  J.  G.  Bridg- 


man. 


352 


SELECTIONS. 


Words  spoken  are  as  wind ; the  tracing  of  the  pencil 
remains. 

Man  sees  only  what  is  before  him,  but  heaven  beholds 
all  things. 

Mere  sound  is  empty;  what  is  seen  is  solid:  what 
is  heard  is  doubtful ; what  is  seen  is  certain. 

Heaven  directs  the  ways  of  men  as  a pilot  directs  a 
ship. 

If  the  fence  is  secure,  the  dogs  will  not  enter. 

Better  strong  within  than  strong  without. 

With  money  one  can  raise  a spirit ; without  it,  he  can-, 
not  command  a man. 

Virtue  requires  no  coloring. 

A near  friend  is  better  than  a distant  relative. 

Good  works  remain  at  home ; the  evil,  travel  far  abroad. 

The  foolish  husband  fears  his  wife  ; the  wise  woman 
fears  her  husband. 

Men’s  fortunes  are  as  variable  as  the  weather. 

What  is  easily  acquired  is  easily  lost. 

Never  engage  in  what  you  would  fear  to  have  known. 

The  injustice  of  man  may  be  endured,  but  the  wrath 
of  heaven  destroys. 

Obsequiousness  makes  friends;  truth  excites  hatred. 

A thing  cannot  be  at  the  same  time  both  true  and 
false. 

A man’s  face  is  known,  but  his  heart  cannot  be  told. 

Man  contrives,  but  heaven  decrees. 

A wise  man  will  not  reprove  a fool. 

To  indulge  a servant  is  not  safe  ; and  to  deceive  a 
child  is  not  proper. 

The  tiger  does  not  walk  with  the  hind. 

He  who  pursues  the  stag  disdains  to  notice  the  hare. 


APOTHEMS  AND  PROVERBS. 


353 


The  tiger  does  not  molest  a lying  carcase. 

He  who  neglects  a good  opportunity  must  not  after- 
wards complain. 

Trouble  neglected  becomes  still  more  troublesome. 
Wood  is  not  sold  in  the  forest,  nor  fish  at  the  pool. 

He  desires  to  hide  his  tracks,  and  walks  upon  the  snow. 
His  desire  to  become  agreeable  renders  him  disgust- 
ing. 

He  seeks  the  ass,  and  lo  ! he  sits  upon  him. 

When  the  master  is  not  rigid,  the  servant  is  remiss. 
For  the  crime  of  one,  the  whole  family  suffers. 

Speak  not  of  others,  but  first  convict  yourself. 

If  the  root  remain,  the  grass  will  grow. 

Great  pleasures  are  purchased  only  with  great  pains. 
Do  not  choke  yourself  in  eating,  nor  let  your  foot  slip 
in  walking. 

A slight  deviation  leads  to  a great  error. 

A man  is  not  always  known  by  his  looks,  nor  is  the 
sea  measured  with  a bushel. 

A gem  is  not  polished  without  rubbing,  nor  is  man 
perfected  without  trials. 

Extreme  peril  requires  extreme  effort. 

A word  spoken  in  the  ear  is  heard  a thousand  miles  off 
Ivory  does  not  come  from  a rat’s  mouth.* 

If  I keep  with  my  own  wife,  she  will  not  be  debauched 
by  others. 

The  wise  forget  past  injuries. 

Man  lives  one  age,  the  flowers  one  spring. 

Better  not  be,  than  be  nothing. 

The  good  seek  each  other,  the  bad  mutually  repel. 


* Do  not  look  for  wisdom  out  of  the  mouth  of  a fool. 


354 


SELECTIONS. 


One  thread  does  not  make  a rope  ; a swallow  does  not 
make  a summer. 

Domestic  foibles  must  not  be  exposed. 

A faithful  subject  dies  without  fear,  and  a virtuous 
woman  meets  danger  with  delight. 

Between  husband  and  wife  there  must  be  all  affection ; 
between  friends  all  fidelity. 

Consider  the  past  and  you  will  know  the  future. 

Though  the  sword  be  sharp,  it  will  not  wound  the  in- 
nocent. 

Sensual  indulgence  is  the  greatest -evil ; filial  obedi- 
ence is  the  highest  good. 

Great  effects  require  great  efforts. 

Not  only  beauty  but  talents  may  infatuate  a person. 

Great  humility  secures  great  honor. 

That  which  soars  not  high  is  not  hurt  by  a fall. 

When  wealth  is  not  rightly  obtained,  misfortune  is 
sure  to  follow. 

While  the  two  contend  a third  secures  the  gain. 

A day  of  sorrow  is  longer  than  a month  of  joy. 

The  whole  world  presents  no  continual  feast ; no  earth- 
ly pleasure  is  permanent. 

No  distance  can  separate  what  heaven  unites,  or  unite 
what  heaven  separates. 

The  prisoner  dreams  of  freedom ; the  thirsty  of  springs 
of  water. 

It  is  only  the  naked  who  fear  the  light. 

A flower  is  not  in  bloom  a hundred  days,  nor  a man 
in  his  prime  a thousand. 

He  who  is  not  grateful  is  unworthy  of  being  called  a 
man. 


APOTHEMS  AND  PROVERBS. 


355 


It  is  not  wine  that  makes  a drunkard,  the  man  intoxi- 
cates himself. 

He  who  shakes  the  bush  rouses  the  serpent. 

If  the  escort  proceed  a thousand  miles,  a separation 
must  at  length  occur. 

A strife  may  be  properly  ended,  but  not  properly  be- 
gun. 

If  what  we  see  is  doubtful,  how  can  we  believe  what  is 
spoken  behind  the  back. 

Do  not  show  your  cash  when  you  go  to  the  market. 

Obedience  is  better  than  respect. 

True  gold  does  not  fear  the  fire.- 

Every  man  to  his  taste. 

Wine  will  both  finish  and  furnish  business. 

Wine  discovers  the  sentiments  of  the  heart. 

The  full  moon  does  not  last,  and  the  bright  cloud  soon 
vanishes. 

It  is  man  who  is  bad,  not  the  law. 

Happy  is  he  who  fights  with  himself ; wretched  who 
contends  with  others. 

Night  comes  alike  to  the  young  who  wake,  and  to  the 
old  who  sleep  ; both  old  and  young  are  exposed  to  death. 

Blessings  come  not  in  pairs ; calamities  occur  not  sin- 
gle. 


356 


SELECTIONS. 


MORAL  APHORISMS,  BY  THE  DOCTOR  HU 
TSIN-YANG* 

If  an  upright  heart  be  not  maintained,  interment  in  a 
lucky  place  avails  nothing. 

Without  filial  duty  to  parents,  sacrifice  to  the  gods 
avails  nothing. 

If  there  be  discord  between  brethren,  harmony  among 
friends  avails  nothing. 

With  a disorderly  life,  pursuit  of  letters  avails  nothing. 

With  a proud  temper  cherished,  universal  knowledge 
avails  nothing. 

If  folly  guides  in  the  transaction  of  affairs,  perspicacity 
of  intellect  avails  nothing. 

If  the  natural  constitution  be  not  attended  to,  to  swal- 
low medicine  avails  nothing. 

If  fate  be  unpropitious,  wild  endeavors  (to  gain  the 
desired  end)  will  avail  nothing. 

With  the  substance  of  others  unjustly  possessed,  alms- 
giving avails  nothing. 

If  lustful  desires  be  entertained,  piety  and  devotion 
avail  nothing. 


* Transactions  of  Chinese  Branch  of  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
Part  III,  1851-2. 


ANCIENT  CHINESE  POETRY. 


357 


ANCIENT  CHINESE  POETRY. 


THE  HARMONIOUS  WATER  BIRDS.* 

The  harmonious  voices  of  the  sacred  water-birds 
Are  heard  from  their  river  island  home  : 

This  excellent  damsel,  retiring  and  mild, 

Is  a lovely  mate  for  our  virtuous  prince ; 

On  the  waves  of  the  river’s  running  stream, 

(The  Hang  plant’s  stalks’  uneven  stems) 

Are  swaying  to  and  fro  : 

This  excellent  damsel,  retiring  and  mild, 

When  waking  and  sleeping,  our  prince  was  seeking. 
While  seeking,  but  not  having  found, 

His  troubled  thoughts  waking  and  sleeping  exclaimed, 
How  long  ! Oh  how  long  ! 

He  turns  him  around  on  his  bed,  and  turns  back, 

He  turns  him  all  around  and  returns, 

The  Hang  plant’s  stalks’  uneven  stems 

Are  swaying  to  and  fro.  He  gathers  them  now ; 


* Ode  first,  of  the  Book  of  three  hundred  Odes;  Chinese  Reposi- 
tory, Vol.  XVI. 


358 


SELECTIONS. 


This  excellent  damsel,  retiring  and  mild, 

With  lutes  and  guitars  he  welcomes  her  home. 

The  Hang  plant’s  stalks’  uneven  stems 

Are  swaying  to  and  fro,  they  are  fit  for  offering  now . 

This  excellent  damsel,  retiring  and  mild, 

With  music  of  bells  and  of  drums,  come  welcome  her  home, 

VERSES  FROM  THE  TAI  YA.* 

The  following  verses  are  extracted  from  a collection 
of  odes  written  under  the  first  emperors  of  the  Cheu 
dynasty.  During  the  time  of  Le  wang,  B.c.  850,  the  af- 
fairs of  the  State  were  in  disorder,  and  a poet  uttered 
the  following  complaints : 

Against  that  wild  and  hostile  gale, 

The  panting  traveler’s  strength  must  fail. 

Willingly  would  the  people  bring 
Good  words  of  wisdom  to  their  king ; 

But  ah  ! they  are  compelled  to  say, 

The  time  to  act  is  far  away. 

It  would  be  better  for  us  now, 

To  seek  the  fields,  and  delve,  and  plough  ; 

Resign  state  service,  and  instead 
Toil  with  the  people  for  our  bread. 

To  labor  in  the  fields  all  day, 

It  is  a heavy  price  to  pay ; 

But  it  were  better  not  to  grieve, 

And  earn  by  toil  wherewith  to  live. 


* From  the  “ Transactions  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society,”  1853,  Part  IV,  page  55. 


ANCIENT  CHINESE  POETRY. 


359 


VERSES  BY  THE  POET  SU.* 

To  a new  and  lonely  home, 
Seeking  quiet  I have  come, 
Cherishing,  while  none  intrude, 
Thoughts  in  love  with  solitude. 
Mountain  prospects  front  my  door, 
And  the  Tung  flows  on  before. 

In  its  waters  deep  I see 
Images  of  house  and  tree. 

’Neath  that  thicket  of  bamboo, 
Snow  lies  all  the  winter  through. 

In  my  darkened  cottage  home, 
Long  ere  nightfall  all  is  gloom. 

In  this  unobserved  retreat. 

Freed  from  the  gay  world  I sit, 
Listening  to  the  birds  that  sing 
Anthem  to  the  welcome  spring. 


* Translation  of  Chinese  Poetry  of  the  mediaeval  period — see 
“ Transactions  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  So- 
ciety,” Part  IV,  1853,  page  57. 


360 


SELECTIONS. 


MODERN  CHINESE  POETRY. 

The  verses  given  below  are  by  Commissioner  Lin,  from 
the  Shay  Ying  Low  She  Wha — verses  and  prose  from 
the  Eagle-shooting  Turret,  printed  in  Fuh-chow-Foo,  and 
translated  for  the  Tra?isactions  of  the  China  Branch  of 
the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  Part  III,  1851-2. 

Commissioner  Lin,  as  near  as  we  can  learn,  was  born 
in  Fuh-chow-Foo  about  1787.  He  was  distinguished  as 
a scholar,  and  honored  with  many  high  offices  under  gov- 
ernment. About  1838,  he  was  commissioned  as  Prefect 
of  Canton,  and  charged  especially  “ to  punish  the  con- 
sumers of  opium.”  His  activity  and  the  vigor  of  his 
policy  were  the  immediate  cause  of  hastening  the  rupture 
between  China  and  England,  and  of  bringing  on  the 
war.  In  consequence  of  the  troubles  caused  the  gov- 
ernment by  his  too  faithful  discharge  of  duty,  he  was 
recalled,  was  degraded  in  rank,  and  afterwards  banished 
to  E-li,  a desolate  region  far  in  the  northwest  territories 
of  China.  Some  of  his  verses  have  reference  to  that 
banishment. 

He  was  afterwards  released,  his  rank  restored,  and  he 
was  again  honored  with  imperial  favor. 


MODERN  CHINESE  POETRY. 


361 

He  was  a voluminous  writer.  He  prepared  maps,  ge- 
ography, history,  and  statistics,  respecting  the  different 
nations  of  the  earth.  He  died  about  1851. 

Of  the  Poetical  Compositions  of  Lin,  a few  translated 
specimens  follow.  They  are  crowded  with  allusions  to 
the  classics  and  to  the  legends  of  China.  Lin’s  poetry 
is  the  subject  of  the  highest  eulogies  from  the  critics  of 
his  nation ; they  call  it  bold,  elevated,  pathetic — exhib- 
iting the  warmth  of  his  affections  and  the  power  of  his 
mind.  He  is  almost  invariably  spoken  of  under  the  title 
conferred  upon  him  by  the  emperor — Wan  Chung  Rung 
— “ the  literary  and  faithful.” 

STANZAS  WRITTEN  WHILE  ON  HIS  BANISHMENT,  THREAD- 
ING THE  PASS  OF  K EA YU,  A GAJE  OF  THE  GREAT 
WALL  ON  THE  BORDERS  OF  KAN-SUH. 

Proud  towers  the  frowning  wall  that  bounds  the  west, 

Here  the  tired  exile  reins  his  steed — to  rest. 

Turret  on  turret  in  mid-air  suspended, 

Till  with  the  distant  woods  of  Shen-se  blended  ; 

Tower  rears  on  tower  upon  the  Sze-chuen  clouds, 

And  mighty  mountain  upon  mountain  crowds  ; 

Their  craggy  peaks  up  to  Heaven’s  boundary  rise 
While  the  waste’s  vast  extension  dims  men’s  eyes. 

Yaou-han's*  most  perilous  pass,  discern’d  from  hence. 

Is  but  a clay-clod  to  the  visual  sense. 


* Yaou-han  is  a mountain  pass  in  Shen-se  renowned  for  the  dan- 
gers of  its  defile.  It  was  here  the  overthrow  of  the  Tsin  dynasty 
took  place. 


16 


362 


SELECTIONS. 


Other  scenery  that  he  meets  with  is  thus  described — 

The  orient  to  the  Occident  opes  its  door, 

On  star-lit  plank*  new  regions  I explore, 

Soft  reed-born  musict  o ’er  the  waste  is  flung ; 

O’er  my  sword  bent,  I track  the  towers-crowned  Tung, 

In  the  moon’s  light  the  horses  quench  their  thirst, 

And  ’midst  the  desert-tempests  hawks  are  nurst : 

Loo-tung’s  wild  wastes  of  mountains  and  of  seas 
Alone  present  such  fearful  scenes  as  these. 

There  is  a charm  of  real  tenderness  in  Lin’s  verses  to 
his  wife,  expressing  the  delight  he  felt  at  receiving  her 
portrait — assurance  in  his  exile  of  her  unchangeable  af- 
fection. She  is  spoken  of  as  a lady  of  high  education, 
but  appears  to  have  suffered  from  some  deformity  in  her 
hands,  to  which  he  makes  allusion  in  his  address  : 

Like  the  wild  water-fowls,  in  mutual  love 
Each  upon  each  dependent,  did  we  move ; 

But  now — grief-stricken — a poor,  lonely  man, 

I roam  in  desolate  exile  ! Still  the  ban 
Of  separation  is  less  hard  from  thee — 


* Orig.  “ Like  Powang  I embark  on  a star-lit  log  to  discover 
new  regions.”  Tradition  reports  that  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  Yaou, 
a great  log  was  seen  in  the  western  ocean,  bearing  a light  which 
shone  brightly  during  the  darkness,  but  was  invisible  in  the  day. 
This  log  floated  periodically  round  the  Four  Seas,  making  the  cir- 
cuit once  in  twelve  years,  and  was  called  the  “ penetrate  moon  log,’ 
or  pendant  star  log. 

t “ Reed  echoing  reed  pours  forth  the  air  of  Cheh-lih  over  the 
desert.”  Cheh-lih  air — a foreign  song. 


MODERN  CHINESE  POETRY. 


3^3 


Beloved  ! than  would  the  horse-hide  cerement* * * §  be  1 
Why  should  I weep  ? — I breathe  the  mountain  air,t 
Although  a herdsman’s  humble  garb  I wear — 

Yet  I must  weep — for  my  mind’s  troubled  eye 
Sees  thee  on  suffering’s  couch  of  misery ; 

Thy  gay  cosmetics  all  neglected, — thou 
Dost  never  seek  the  flattering  mirror  now  ; 

Yet  thy  fair  characters,  in  verse  outpoured, 

Have  raptured  all  my  soul — mine  own  adored  I 
I see  thee, — welcome  thee, — in  every  line, 

Whose  every  pencil  touch,  dear  Wife  ! is  thine  1 

He  proceeds : — 

Oft  think  I of  thy  shrivel’d  hand  again  1 
Well  may  it  guide  a melancholy  pen  ! 

Shall  it  not  be  restored  ? the  wondrous  gem 
Shines  on  thy  verses,  spiritualizing  them 
As  with  a heavenly  agency.}:  Grass  of  gold,§ 

Thou  scatterest — and  thy  mystic  strains  unrolled, 
Make  my  heart  vibrate.  There’s  a power  in  song, 


* Ma  Yuen,  a hero  of  the  Han  dynasty,  in  order  to  show  his  de- 
votion to  his  country,  exclaimed,  “ Let  me  die  in  battle,  and  my 
corpse  be  wrapped  up,  and  sent  home  in  a horse’s  hide.” 

f Orig.  “ I am  a free  traveler  ” — implying  resignation  to  his 
fate,  and  rejoicing  that  he  was  not  in  confinement.  The  weeping 
in  herdsman’s  clothes  refers  to  an  adventure  of  Wang  chang,  an 
official  of  rank  under  the  Han  dynasty. 

t The  wondrous  gem  refers  to  the  sudden  cure  of  a deformity 
of  the  hand  which  is  reported  to  have  happened  to  a wife  of  Kow 
Kwo  under  the  Han  dynasty. 

§ This  refers  to  the  lanceolated  leaf  strokes  formed  by  the  Chi- 
nese pencil  in  writing,  and  which  are  much  admired. 


SELECTIONS. 


364 

Stronger  than  sorrow — was  not  Tsai  Leuen* * * §  strong 
I11  all  her  grief?  how  blest,  my  wife  ! to  hear 
Thy  heart-thoughts  pour’d  so  sweetly  in  mine  ear — 

As  if  thy  very  soul  were  stamp’d  in  strains 
Of  truth  and  love — to  lighten  all  my  pains. 

The  lines  which  follow,  also  written  during  his  banish- 
ment, are  full  of  metaphors  having  reference  to  the  mis- 
eries inflicted  upon  him  by  his  banishment  from  the 
Emperor’s  presence : 

Thick  falling  flakes  of  all-pervading  snowf 
Hide  heaven  above,}:  and  shroud  the  earth  beiow 
In  trackless  desolation  ; stumbling  on 
With  broken  shoes,  I front  the  blast§ — alone  ; 

In  the  deep  snow,  up  to  his  ears,  my  steed 
Is  sepulchred.  Upon  the  raven’s  head 
The  snow  drops  perseveringly ; — but  oh  ! 

That  head  becomes  not  whiter  from  the  snow.|| 

Le  soo’s  wild  host  in  vain  I seek  around 


* Tsai  Liuen  was  a fairy,  who  married  a man  called  Wan  Suh. 
She  wrote  poetry  to  support  herself,  and  bore  her  misfortunes  with 
much  serenity. 

t The  flakes  of  snow  are  meant  to  indicate  his  political  defi- 
ciencies and  errors. 

} Heaven — the  favor  of  the  sovereign,  the  son  of  heaven. 

§ Blast — the  Emperor’s  displeasure. 

||  This  passage  refers  to  the  hopelessness  of  his  condition,  and 
the  small  chance  of  his  return  from  banishment. 

IT  Le  soo,  a general  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  availed  himself  of  a 
snow-storm  to  capture  a town,  and  thus  obtained  the  favor  of  the 
emperor.  Lin  deplores  that  the  absence  of  all  that  favored  Le  soo 
prevents  his  earning  his  sovereign’s  approval. 


MODERN  CHINESE  POETRY. 


365 


In  what  poor  hut  can  Yuen-gan  now  be  found  ?* 

The  pines  and  the  bamboos  are  buried  all  ;t 
White  streamers  float — and  cups  of  silver  fall,  t 
The  following  is  a translation  of  another  of  Lin’s  plaints. 
The  humble  cruise — the  muddy  urn — the  grain-heap — are 
all  the  accompaniments  and  the  evidences  of  degradation 
and  misery.  His  recourse  to  the  contents  of  the  cruise 
only  augments  his  suffering.  The  allusion  to  the  han 
chung — literally  “cold  or  chilled  insect  ” — cannot  be  trans- 
ferred to  English.  The  animal  is  said  to  be  a winged 
quadruped,  sometimes  called  Han  haou  chung,  inhabiting 
the  Woo  Tai  mountains  of  Shan-se.  Its  summer  plu- 
mage is  reported  to  be  most  splendid,  and  its  song  or 


* During  the  Han  dynasty  a heavy  snow-storm  fell  in  Ho-nan 
at  Loyang,  and  lay  ten  feet  deep  upon  the  ground.  The  magis- 
trates ordered  an  investigation,  and  found  all  the  inhabitants  en- 
gaged in  sweeping  the  snow  from  their  doors  except  one  Yuen-gan, 
who  was  reported  to  be  dead.  On  entering  his  house,  the  magis- 
trates found  him  in  his  bed,  and  inquiring  the  reason,  he  answered. 
“ In  these  heavy  snow-storms  the  people  all  starve.  It  is  not  seemly 
that  I should  go  out,  interfere  with,  or  annoy  them.”  The  Che- 
hiien  was  so  delighted  with  his  disinterestedness,  that,  deeming  him 
a sage,  he  gave  him  employment,  and  he  eventually  became  a fa- 
mous magnate.  Lin  implies,  that  during  the  snow-storm,  there 
will  be  no  search  in  his  case  for  one  to  be  called  to  public  honors. 

t Lin  compares  himself  to  the  pines  and  bamboos  all  hidden  by 
snow. 

I A line  borrowed  from  a poem  of  Han-yii  under  the  Tang  dy- 
nasty. 

“ The  chariot  is  chased  by  the  snow,  and  the  whitened  streamers  flutter  ; 

The  horse  is  pursued,  and  flings  on  every  side  cups  of  silver,” 

referring  to  the  cup-like  forms  flung  from  the  horses’  hoofs  when 
galloping  through  snow. 


SELECTIONS. 


366 

call  at  that  period  is  “ Fung  hwang  puh  joowo! — The 
Phoenix  does  not  equal  me.”  But  as  winter  approaches, 
the  gay  plumage  disappears,  and  it  wanders  about,  a poor 
unfledged  fowl,  crying,  “ Tih  kwo  tscay  kwo — What  I 
must  bear  I bear.”  These  last  words  are  introduced  into 
the  poem.  The  antithesis  of  the  original  is  pretty,  and 
verbally  rendered  thus  : — 

Wish  sleep — no  sleep — night  descends  eternally, 

What  must  be  borne,  I bear — the  cold  insect  cries. 

The  reference  to  the  useless  and  broken  wheel  — 
scorned  and  laughed  at — is  a bitter  allusion  to  the  sup- 
posed termination  of  his  official  career : — 

My  half-exhausted  cruise  hath  nothing  left 
But  thick  and  muddy  drops;  fatigued — bereft, 

I pant — and  ask  a cooling  draught  in  vain. 

Fain  would  I sleep,  but  when  will  sleep  again 
Visit  these  weary  nights — so  dark — so  long — 

0 woe  ! O woe  ! is  all  the  Han  chung’s  song. 

Could  wine  restore  the  free,  the  tranquil  breast  i 
Like  an  old  broken  wheel — men’s  scorn  and  jest — 

1 rise  and  sink — my  empty  cruise  is  all 
My  pillow ; yet  for  others  there  shall  fall 
Wine  from  the  grain-heap,  while  for  me  unblest 
My  grain-heap  is  my  only  couch  of  rest. 

Though  the  general  character  of  Lin’s  poetry  is  grave 
and  gloomy,  he  sometimes  breaks  out  in  assumed  gayety. 
For  example  : — 

Nay  ! what’s  the  use  of  grieving  ? — I’ll  laugh  my  woes  away, 

And  bear  my  bosom  loftily,  and  to  my  spirit  say, — 

Why,  life  is  full  of  errors,  and  place  is  full  of  strife, 


MODERN  CHINESE  POETRY. 


3$7 


And  when  life’s  props  are  wanting,  how  weak  a reed  is  life  ! 

The  winds  and  waves  are  roaring — the  distant  hills  they  hide  ; 

Through  sand  and  dust  I wander,  perplexed  on  every  side. 

I’ll  hear  the  children  prattle— I’ll  joy  me  in  their  folly, 

I’ll  watch  the  lanterns  carelessly — and  chase  my  melancholy. 

The  two  last  lines  refer  to  a foolish  fellow  called  Chaou 
Laon — “ Old  Chaou  ” — often  spoken  of  in  Chinese  nov- 
els. He  is  said  to  have  construed  the  derision  of  the 
boys  and  their  poking  their  lanterns  at  him,  as  evidences 
of  their  good  will. 

Another  ode  runs  thus  : 

On  my  weak  frame  a heavy  burden  lay. 

Heavier  and  heavier — from  my  strength’s  decay. 

I cannot  bear  the  load — and  yet  for  thee, 

My  country  ! Life  or  death  would  welcome  be. 

Why  seek — why  shun  or  life  or  death  ? — for  still 
111  will  be  blent  with  good,  and  good  with  ill. 

My  honors — my  disgrace  alike  record 
The  abounding  favor  of  my  Sovereign  Lord ; 

And  to  his  will  submitting,  I’ll  become 
The  meanest  soldier  of  my  penal  home  ; 

I with  my  laughing  wife  will  laugh  and  play, 

Talk  of  old  times — while  she  shall  sing  the  lay, 

“ Risk  not  your  venerable  scalp,  I say.” 

These  verses  are  characteristic  of  the  prostrations  of 
the  Chinese  mandarins  before  the  emperor.  They  inva- 
riably profess  to  receive  his  rewards  and  punishments 
with  equal  respect — nay,  often  when  misfortunes  have 
attended  their  administration,  they  solicit  punishment, 
even  condemnation  to  death,  for  having  been  unable  to 
accomplish  the  wishes  of  their  sovereign. 


363 


SELECTIONS. 


The  last  line  refers  to  a curious  tradition  respecting  an 
old  man  and  practiced  poet  named  Yang-po,  whom  one 
of  the  emperors  of  the  Sung  dynasty  wished  to  employ 
in  a public  post,  but  the  old  man  refused;  on  which  being 
summoned  to  the  emperor’s  presence,  the  emperor  asked 
why  he  had  not  appeared,  (to  be  initiated  into  office)  and 
what  poetry  he  had  lately  produced.  Yang-po  answered, 
he  had  not  come,  because  his  wife  had  taken  poetry- 
making out  of  his  hands,  and  had  favored  him  with  this 
quatrain : — 

Tipple  no  more,  thou  silly  one  ! 

But  stop  thy  mad  and  foolish  strains  ; 

Now  thy  official  life’s  begun, 

Risk  not  th’  old  scalp  that  holds  thy  brains  ! 

This,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  an  impromptu  effusion 
of  his  own,  but  it  answered  its  purpose.  The  emperor 
was  delighted  with  the  cleverness  of  the  joke,  and  Yang- 
po  was  allowed  quietly  to  wend  his  way  homewards. 

In  the  domestic  schoolroom  thou  art  found, — 

So  friends  report  thee — scattering  knowledge  round, 

O sweet  to  hear  the  echoing  hall  resound 
With  verse  and  music — thou  art  well  employ’d. 

Be  my  old  wines  expended  and  enjoy’d,* 

In  liberal  streams  ! Disport  thyself  and  sing, 

And  play  in  laughing  rhymes  with  King  and  Ping, t 


* A report  had  reached  Lin  that  a draught  of  medicated  wine  had 
been  beneficial  to  his  wife’s  health — so  he  urges  her  to  continue  its 
use. 

t Rhyming  King  and  Ping.  There  is  a story  in  the  History  of 
the  Southern  Dynasties,  of  Sun  King-tsun,  a famous  general  in  the 


MODERN  CHINESE  POETRY. 


3C  9 


Call  to  the  merry  hall  our  grandsons  too, 

And  teach  them  how  to  read  their  che  and  woo;* * 
Upon  the  chess-board  strive  to  win  the  day, 

And  never  lose  your  temper  in  your  play. 

Time’s  snows  are  on  my  head — and  youth  is  gone, 
And  spite  of  thought,  disease  and  death  come  on  ; 
Why  should  I fly  from  what  I cannot  shun  ?t 
I see  thee  in  a distance — cherish’d  one  ! 

With  hair  dishevel’d — while  men  shout  the  name 
Of  this  man’s  honor  and  of  that  man’s  fame. 

While  I and  mine}:  are  wandering  ! Grief ! be  still’d  ; 
Go  ! till  the  garden;  cultivate  the  field; 

Yet  may  I join  thy  rustic  toils,  content 


time  of  Woo  Te,  of  Leang,  who  on  his  return  from  a warlike  expe- 
dition  went  to  court  and  found  the  Emperor  and  his  friends  amiii- 
ing  themselves  with  the  bouts  rimes.  “ He  cannot  make  poetry,” 
said  they,  and  the  Emperor  would  not  allow  him  to  join  the  game. 
On  his  entreaty  not  to  be  excluded,  the  only  remaining  rhyme  was 
handed  to  him  ; it  was  King  and  Ping,  meaning  “ quarrelsome  ” 
and  “ sick.”  But  Sun  King-tsun  improvised  this  quatrain  ; 

I went — my  family  grieved  ; I came. 

And  the  pipes  and  the  drums  are  ro\icking; 

And  I ask  the  passengers  now  I’m  home — 

Am  I not  like  the  famous  Ho  Kheu -ping? 

Ho  Kheu-ping  was  an  illustrious  general  who  subdued  the  Heung 
noo,  and  Sun  King-tsun  was  not  deemed  the  less  happy,  in  that  the 
concluding  ping  was  only  in  sound,  but  not  in  character,  the  same 
with  that  handed  over  to  his  sagacity. 

* Read  Che  and  Woo.  It  is  said  that  Pih  Lo-teen,  a poet  contem- 
porary with  Le  Tai-pih,  learnt  the  two  characters  when  only  a few 
months  old;  they  had  been  pointed  out  by  his  nurse. 

t The  line  is  Byron’s,  the  thought  is  Lin’s. 

I Orig.  “ I and  my  son.” 

1 6* 


37°  SELECTIONS. 

With  a hind’s  wages* * * § — ’neath  a rustic  tent, 

So  that  with  thee  life’s  short  remains  be  spent. 

He  thus  celebrates  the  extent  of  the  Chinese  Empire : 

Old  Teen-hwang  now  is  but  a weedy  waste, t 
But  Yang-kwan’st  gate  has  ancient  Tsew  replaced. 

A dyke  was  once  Han’s  boundary, § now  th’  expanse, 
Fill’d  then  by  wild  fowl,  owns  Yaou’s  heavenly  glance. 
And  the  celestial  influence  spreading  wide,|| 

Absorbs  new  sovereignties  on  every  side. 

Majestic  prowess  rolling  towards  the  west, 

Gives  to  the  farthest  regions  peace  and  rest. 


* This  has  reference  to  an  eminent  literary  character  under  the 
How  Han  dynasty.  In  his  poverty  he  and  his  wife  supported  them- 
selves by  obtaining  the  wages  of  laborers  for  pounding  rice. 

t An  ancient  encampment  of  the  outer  barbarians  beyond  the  ex- 
treme western  point  of  the  Great  Wall. 

f Yang  Ivwan  is  another  name  for  the  Kea-yii  pass,  and  the  gate 
replacing  the  ancient  Tsew  Tseuen  represents  the  progress  of  the 
Chinese  power. 

§ A dyke  formerly  separated  the  territories  of  Han  and  Tsoo; 
it  passed  through  the  modern  province  of  Ho-nan  ( at  Y ung-yang 
Hiien)  communicating  with  the  Yellow  river  at  Yung-tsih. 

||  Orig.  “ The  majesty  of  the  throne  has  spread  far  since  the 
exposure  of  Urh-foo” — a foreign  tribe  headed  by  Wei  Wei,  who 
murdered  a chief  of  a neighboring  tribe. 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


A RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE  CLASSIC  GROUNDS 
OF  CHINA. 

After  an  introduction,  such  as  the  foregoing  pages 
afford,  to  the  ancient  sages  and  emperors,  and  all  the 
worthies  who  figured  in  Chinese  history  and  song  as 
rulers,  teachers,  or  authors,  the  reader  will  begin  to  feel 
a desire  to  learn  more  respecting  the  present  condition 
of  the  country  in  which  they  lived.  Were  it  possible,  he 
would  make  a pilgrimage  to  the  places  of  their  birth,  and 
the  scenes  among  which  they  lived  and  acted.  He  would 
visit  their  tombs,  and  study  the  inscriptions  on  their 
Monuments. 

The  roads  leading  to  those  sites,  made  memorable  in 
Grecian  and  Roman  history,  are  always  alive  with  enthu- 
siastic tourists. 

Scarcely  a class  in  any  college,  but  at  one  time  or  an- 
other has  had  its  representatives  in  the  lands  of  Homer 
and  Virgil,  longing  to  see  with  their  own  eyes  every  spot 
which  has  been  immortalized  by  the  historian’s  and  by  the 
poet’s  pen  : yearly,  for  ages  past,  have  fresh  throngs  of 
pilgrims  appeared  around  the  pyramids,  and  gone  search- 
ing through  the  temple-ruins  of  Egypt : Palestine,  with 
all  its  sacred  associations,  is  still  fresh  ground  to  each 


372 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


successive  tourist : in  later  years  Babylon  and  Nineveh 
are  rewarding  the  search  of  the  antiquarian  : while  China 
until  lately,  has  kept  itself  shut  in,  and  other  portions 
of  the  world  shut  out.  Recently,  however,  the  walls  were 
scaled,  and  foreign  scholars  are  now  not  only  penetrat- 
ing all  the  fields  of  her  literature,  but  they  are  visiting 
the  places  where  were  enacted  the  scenes  of  four  thou- 
sand years  ago.  They  find  the  monuments  which  for 
thousands  of  years  have  withstood  the  ravages  of  time  : 
they  study  and  translate  their  inscriptions. 

It  is  with  peculiar  pleasure  that  we  are  able  to  lay  be- 
fore the  reader,  ere  he  shall  close  this  volume,  the  out- 
lines of  a picture  of  the  classic  grounds  of  China. 

What  we  here  present  is  compiled  from  the  notes  of  a 
journey  which  was  recently  made  through  the  regions 
which  were  traveled  over  by  the  renowned  Yu,  when  en- 
gaged in  redeeming  the  country  from  the  desolations 
caused  by  the  inundation  ; regions  over  which  Confucius 
traveled  on  foot  or  rode  in  his  chariot  of  primitive  pat- 
tern ; regions  which  are  rich  in  monuments  of  a more 
hoary  antiquity  than  any  other  land  can  boast. 

That  those  monuments  with  their  inscriptions  are  pre- 
served perfect  down  through  so  many  generations,  will 
cause  less  surprise  when  it  is  known  that  many  of  them 
are  within  the  temples,  sheltered  from  the  action  of 
storms  and  sun.  Another  reason  for  their  preservation 
is  found  in  the  permanent  character  of  the  population  : 
the  families  do  not  move  about  from  place  to  place,  but 
as  the  old  disappear,  children  succeed  them,  perpetuat- 
ing the  name  and  the  occupation  of  the  fathers  from 
generation  to  generation.  Should  there  be  civil  wars, 
still  the  tombs,  ancient  tablets,  and  monumental  struc- 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


373 


mres  are  sacred,  and  no  harm  is  allowed  to  come  to 
them. 

The  quotations  given  below  are  from  the  “ Notes  of  a 
journey  from  Pekin  to  Chefoo,  via  the  Grand  Canal, 
Yen-Chow-Foo,  etc.,  by  Rev.  A.  Williamson.” 

See  Journal  of  the  North  China  Branch  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society ; New  Series,  No.  Ill,  1866. 

The  Journal  says  : 

On  the  18th  October,  1865,  I set  off  from  Peking  in 
company  with  a native  teacher  : at  Tung-chow-foo  we 
obtained  a boat  to  take  us  on  to  Lin-tsing-chow,  the  spot 
where  the  Grand  Canal  divides  into  two  branches — the 
main  branch  leading  to  Hang-chow-foo  and  the  river 
Yang-tze,  the  other,  called  the  Wei-ho,  to  Ho-nan  and 
the  west.  Two  days  took  us  to  Tien-tsin,  and  our  jour- 
ney may  be  said  to  have  begun. 

Traveling  along  this  portion  of  the  Canal  we  found  it 
in  excellent  repair,  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  feet  wide, 
and  from  eight  to  ten  feet  deep.  The  towns  along  the 
banks  were  less  flourishing  than  I had  anticipated,  many 
being  little  better  than  heaps  of  ruins  ; the  only  towns  of 
real  importance  on  the  way  to  Lin-tsing  being  Tsau-chow 
and  Yuh-chow,  spelt  Yi-chow  in  the  Admiralty  maps  ; 
the  former  incloses  a large  space  of  ground,  but  there 
does  not  appear  to  be  extensive  business  carried  on. 

Arriving  at  Lin-tsing  we  found  it  to  be  an  extensive 
market  for  all  kinds  of  goods  ; the  city  had  been  burned 
down  by  the  Taiping  rebels  several  years  ago,  and  had 
not  been  rebuilt.  Here  the  Canal  branches  off  in  two 
directions,  one  to  Ho-nan  and  south-westward,  and  the 
other,  and  formerly  the  principal  one,  proceeding  south, 
to  Soo-chow  and  Hang-chow.  Here  the  famous  locks 


374 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  TIIE 


commenced,  but  they  were  now  all  out  of  repair,  and  the 
Canal  all  but  dry;  accordingly  we  had  to  leave  our  boats 
and  hire  carts.  The  road  ran  nearly  parallel  with  the 
Canal,  and  so  we  had  the  pain  of  seeing  its  dilapidated 
appearance,  every  now  and  then  ; we  were  told  that  it 
was  useless  for  between  sixty  and  seventy  miles,  but  re- 
ceiving a supply  from  the  Yellow  River,  it  again  became 
navigable,  and  continued  so  on  to  its  ancient  termina- 
tion* 

Proceeding  onwards,  we  found  cotton  growing  in  great 
abundance,  and  whole  families,  and  especially  the  female 
portion  of  the  households,  busy  picking  the  wool.  Here, 
for  the  first  time,  I met  with  numbers  of  those  extraor- 
dinary wheelbarrows  propelled  by  sails,  familiar  to  most 
of  us  in  written  accounts  of  China,  but  seen  by  so  few  ; 
at  first  sight  we  hardly  knew  what  to  make  of  them-- 
something  moving  along  on  dry  ground  with  a sail  set. 

The  next  morning  we  came  in  sight  of  the  fine  bell 
tower  of  Tung-chang-foo,  and  at  last  reached  the  city 
about  8 o’clock,  a.m.  We  found  it  to  be  a most  impor- 
tant place  ; the  city  was  in  good  order,  well  fortified, 
and  with  a fine  bell  tower  in  the  center.  But  the  east- 
ern suburbs  far  exceeded  the  city  proper  in  importance  ; 
they  were  most  extensive,  and  the  trade  appeared  enor- 
mous. I had  seen  nothing  equal  to  them,  unless  it  be 
the  eastern  suburbs  of  Shanghai,  or  the  great  north  street 
of  Tien-tsin.  The  city  was  nearly  surrounded  by  water, 
partly  by  canal  and  the  Yellow  River.  In  summer  time 
pleasure  boats  ply  for  hire  all  round  the  place. 

Up  to  this  point  of  our  journey  we  found  it  somewhat 
difficult  to  identify  places  which  are  mentioned  in  the 
old  books,  but  here  the  country  began  to  be  exceedingly 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


375 


rich  in  historical  associations  ; this  feature  increased 
every  clay,  culminating  in  the  Temple  and  Tomb  of 
Confucius,  though  not  ceasing  there.  This  city  is  sup- 
posed to  take  its  name  from  a very  famous  man  called 
“ Chang,”  who  rose  in  rebellion  against  Chow,  the  last 
emperor  of  the  Yin  dynasty,  and  having  defeated  him, 
took  the  little  Wang  (king)  Wan,  of  Chow,  and  founded 
the  Chow  dynasty,  of  which  his  son  Woo  was  the  first 
Emperor.  He  lived  about  b.c.  iioo. 

Having  spent  some  hours  in  the  city,  we  again  set  out, 
few  objects  of  interest  presenting  themselves.  Passing  a 
village  called  Wo-chung,  hills  appeared  in  sight ; we 
knew  that  the  famous  Yellow  River  skirted  their  bases, 
and  so  our  enthusiasm  began  to  rise.  The  road  became 
extremely  soft  and  clayey,  and  we  were  nearly  stuck  fast ; 
this  part  of  the  country  having  evidently  been  recently 
overflowed  by  “China’s  Sorrow.”  Slowly  the  river  dawned 
upon  our  vision,  like  a mighty  yellow  dragon  lying  at  rest 
on  the  level  soil : at  two  o’clock  we  reached  the  ferry  ; 
there  also  we  found  a military  post,  for  it  was  said  there 
were  bands  of  mounted  robbers  in  the  neighborhood  ; 
the  soldiers  were  very  civil. 

We  found  the  river  broad,  rapid  and  muddy  ; though 
not  so  broad  as  we  anticipated  ; much  wider  than  the 
Thames  at  London  bridge.  There  were  multitudes  of 
ferry  boats  of  all  sizes  plying,  and  having  selected  one 
of  the  largest,  had  our  cart  and  mules  and  ourselves 
quickly  placed  on  board,  as  we  wished  to  travel  forty  li 
further  that  afternoon. 

Our  route  lying  direct  through  the  scene  of  Great  Y u’s 
labors,  I endeavored  to  pierce  the  mystery  of  that  great 
flood  which  has  so  long  interested  Chinese  scholars,  and 


376 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


which  is  graphically  described  in  the  Shoo-King  and  in 
Mencius  ; and  also  tried  to  identify  the  hills  and  the  riv- 
ers operated  upon  by  that  indefatigable  minister.  Con- 
sulting old  maps  of  China,  we  find  that  in  very  ancient 
times  the  Yellow  River  called  the  Ho  followed  a very  dif- 
ferent course  from  what  it  now  pursues  ; it  flowed  north 
into  Chi-lf  province,  then  north  and  east,  disemboguing 
itself  somewhere  near  the  present  Ta-k’ow,  probably  by 
the  channel  of  that  river  now  called  the  Pei-ho.  Keep- 
ing this  in  view,  and  considering  the  nature  of  the  coun- 
try which  we  have  just  described,  we  gain  not  a little 
light  upon  the  point.  The  whole  district,  containing  the 
greater  part  of  Chi-lf,  the  northwestern  part  of  Shantung, 
and  all  around,  extending  over  I knew  not  how  many 
hundred  square  miles,  is  one  great  plain  full  of  marshes, 
many  parts  little,  if  any,  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This 
river  is  not  only  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world,  but  the 
most  wayward ; it  is  constantly  breaking  through  its 
banks,  and  changing  its  course,  and  has  been  a perpet- 
ual source  of  anxiety  to  every  dynasty;  and  great  the 
labor  and  fabulous  the  sums  which  have  been  expended 
upon  it. 

But  to  return  to  our  journey  : having  disembarked,  we 
made  for  the  village  of  Li-lieu-Iviau,  one  li  distant,  about 
Lat.  36°  25'  N.,  Long.  1160  18'  e.  Here  the  roads  be- 
came so  bad,  that  they  were  impassable  even  for  carts, 
and  we  had  to  turn  to  the  wheel-barrows.  Owing  to  the 
proximity  of  the  rebels  there  was  a large  military  force 
here : the  men  seemed  far  superior  to  the  average  of  Chi- 
nese soldiers.  We  next  day  entered  a hilly  district,  and 
crossed  several  streams,  skirting  the  side  of  a picturesque 
lake  abounding  with  water- fowl. 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


377 


Having  gained  the  level  country  again,  we  stopped  at 
Tung-ping-chow.  This  city  lies  on  a river,  and  is  a place 
of  considerable  trade.  The  neighboring  farmers  were 
engaged  in  sowing  wheat  at  the  time  of  my  visit ; large 
quantities  of  arrow-root  grow  near  this  city  and  suburbs. 

Here  we  again  stood  on  historical  ground.  This  is  the 
district  anciently  called  Tung-yuen,  referred  to  in  the 
Shoo-King  as  having  been  successfully  brought  under 
cultivation  by  the  operations  of  the  Great  Yu.  The  soil 
and  trees  still  correspond  with  the  description  given  more 
than  four  thousand  years  ago.  It  is  still  clayey,  red  and 
rich,  and  the  trees  and  grass  strong  and  bushy.  (Shoo- 
King,  Book  I,  Chap.  Y.) 

The  city  had  evidently  taken  its  name  from  that  same 
passage  in  the  Shoo-King,  Tung-ping,  the  Eastern  Plain, 
and  hence  called  Tung-ping-chow.  The  city  is  famous 
in  history.  After  the  murder  of  the  emperor  Seang,  5th 
of  the  Hea  dynasty,  the  Bamboo  Books  tell  us  that  his 
empress  Min  fled  to  Yew-jing,  the  old  name  for  this  place  ; 
it  would  also  appear  as  if  this  were  the  birthplace  of  Shau- 
K’ang,  the  succeeding  emperor.  Again,  in  this  neighbor- 
hood was  fought  the  great  battle  which  put  an  end  to  the 
Hea  dynasty,  and  introduced  the  dynasty  of  Shang.  His- 
tory informs  us  that  several  times  the  inhabitants  of  this 
district  have  been  driven  from  their  homes  by  inunda- 
tions of  the  Yellow  River.  One  flood,  more  disastrous 
in  its  effects  than  the  others  on  record,  occurred  a.d. 
1344- 

Continuing  towards  Yen-chow-fu,  we  crossed  the  classic 
river  the  Wen-ho ; it  was  broad,  full  of  water,  and  well 
supplied  with  ferry-boats.  All  Chinese  scholars  know  of 
this  stream ; it  is  one  of  the  rivers  mentioned  in  the  tribute 


37$ 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


of  Yu,  as  that  by  which  the  produce  of  the  north  country 
was  conveyed  to  the  river  Tsi,  and  thence  to  the  capital. 
It  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Lun-yii,  where  Min-tse-K’een, 
not  wishing  to  serve  the  K’e  family,  says,  “ Decline  for 
me  the  honor  positively.  If  any  one  come  again  to  me 
with  a second  invitation,  I shall  go  and  live  on  the  banks 
of  the  Wen.” 

Having  crossed  the  river,  we  reached  the  city  of  Wen- 
shang-hien ; the  gates  were  closed  through  dread  of  the 
rebels,  and  we  had  some  difficulty  in  obtaining  admis- 
sion. We  remained  but  a short  time,  and  drove  on  for 
Yen-chow-fu,  which  we  reached  the  same  afternoon.  Our 
attention  was  arrested  by  a fine  grove  of  tall  cypress  trees, 
with  a tall  grave  in  front.  We  found  that  it  was  the  burial 
place  of  Hwuy,  of  Lew-new,  mentioned  in  the  books  of 
Confucius  and  Mencius  ; he  was  an  officer  of  the  king- 
dom of  Loo,  was  a man  of  virtue  and  talents,  and  holds 
a conspicuous  place  in  the  present  day  amongst  the  writ- 
ers of  China. 

Soon  the  pagoda  and  walls  of  Yen-chow-fu  came  in 
sight : I was  now  approaching  the  district  rendered 
classic  as  being  the  birthplace  of  the  two  great  sages  of 
China,  and  the  scene  of  many  of  the  more  important 
events  in  their  lives.  The  city  takes  its  name  from  one 
of  the  nine  divisions  of  China,  into  which,  we  are  in- 
formed, the  Supreme  Ruler  in  a vision  told  Yu  to  divide 
the  empire.  It  stands  in  the  center  of  the  old  kingdom, 
or  dukedom,  called  Loo,  so  often  referred  to  in  the  Class- 
ics. This  is  certified,  among  other  things,  by  an  inscrip- 
tion of  four  large  characters  over  the  top  of  the  west 
gate,  telling  us  that  to  the  west  lay  Chau  and  Wei,  and 
we  knew  that  Loo  lay  to  the  east  of  these  place?.  The 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


379 


father  of  Confucius  is  said,  on  a tablet  in  the  temple  of 
his  son,  to  have  ruled  over  this  place  in  his  time.  The 
city  lies  on  the  river  called  the  Sze-shui,  of  which  I shall 
again  have  occasion  to  speak ; it  does  not  appear  to  be 
very  rich,  and  bears  a strong  resemblance  to  Tung- 
chang-fu. 

Having  passed  the  night  here,  we  started  for  Tsiu-hi- 
en,  the  city  of  Mencius,  which  lies  S.E.  50  H from  this 
place.  On  our  way  we  passed  the  grave  of  Tan-tai-mee- 
ming,  who  “ never  took  a short  cut  in  walking,  and  never 
came  to  his  superior’s  office  except  on  business,”  and 
also  of  Li-joh-sz,  a man  famous  in  the  Ming  dynasty ; in- 
deed, almost  every  tablet  on  the  roadside  had  a history, 
and  much  could  be  written  about  them. 

As  we  approached  Tsiu,  or  Tsow-hien,  we  were  struck 
with  the  beauty  of  the  place.  Lying  at  the  foot  of  the 
range  of  hills,  its  sombre  walls  and  sentinel-like  pagoda 
stood  out  prominently,  while  the  hills  formed  an  enchant- 
ing back-ground  to  the  picture.  These  hills  have  a his- 
tory. That  high  peak  toward  the  southeast  is  the  “ Yih  ” 
mountain,  or  “ E ” mountain,  spoken  of  in  the  tribute  of 
Yu,  as  the  place  where  grew  that  solitary  dryandra,  the 
wood  of  which  formed  part  of  the  articles  conveyed  to 
the  emperor,  and  which  was  used  for  making  lutes.  The 
mountain  is  famous  at  the  present  time  for  its  supposed 
natural  curiosities : here  is  a famous  stone  drum,  another 
rock  in  the  shape  of  a great  bell,  and  yet  another  of  oc- 
tagonal shape  on  which  can  be  seen  the  eight  diagrams. 
While  here,  we  proceeded  to  visit  the  temple  of  Mencius, 
no  small  pleasure  to  us  ; the  temple  stands  to  the  south 
of  the  city,  outside  the  south  gate.  It  consists  of  a series 
of  buildings,  facing  the  south,  and  inclosed  by  a high, 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  TIIE 


3*o 

oblong  wall ; the  interior  is  full  of  cypress  trees.  The 
gate-keeper,  a very  obliging  man,  admitted  us,  and  took 
us  over  the  entire  place.  It  is  of  the  same  character  as 
ordinary  Confucian  temples,  only  on  a far  grander  scale. 
One  of  the  first  things  that  struck  us  was  a huge  tablet, 
erected  by  Kang-hf  in  honor  of  the  sage  ; it  stands  on  a 
monster  tortoise  twelve  feet  long,  by  six  feet  broad,  and 
four  feet  high : the  tablet  itself  is  at  least  twenty  feet  high, 
six  feet  wide,  and  twenty  inches  thick  ; tablet  and  tor- 
toise consist  of  one  slab  each,  and  the  marble  is  beauti- 
ful and  finely  cut.  Passing  through  a central  gate,  and 
going  up  an  avenue  of  cypress,  we  had  tablets  on  each 
hand,  all  in  honor  of  Mencius.  The  Han,  Sung,  and 
almost  every  dynasty  is  represented.  The  Yuen  had 
one  with  Mongolian  characters  ; Kien-lung  had  his  pai- 
low  or  tablet  in  a pretty  little  temple  or  summer  house. 
Our  attention  was  drawn  to  a well,  evidently  believed  to 
be  a great  wonder  by  the  people ; it  was  said  to  have 
been  made  by  the  entrance  of  a thunderbolt.  We  were 
then  shown  some  interesting  engravings  on  marble  tab- 
lets, illustrating  the  genealogy  of  Mencius,  and  incidents 
in  his  life.  On  the  upper  two  were  his  mother  and  himself; 
underneath,  his  great-grandfather ; below,  his  twenty-four 
disciples  ; yet  below,  drawings  of  the  city  and  place  ; his 
grave  on  the  hill,  his  father,  etc. 

The  main  building  was  two-storied,  the  tiles  were  yel- 
low and  green  ; the  upper  verandah  stood  upon  eight 
beautiful  marble  pillars,  each  in  one  piece,  on  which  were 
fine  ornamental  engravings.  Going  up  the  slips  which 
lead  to  the  main  temple,  we  passed  between  the  pillars, 
and  thus  entered  the  great  building  ; right  in  front  of 
us  was  a large  statue  of  Mencius  himself ; it  stood  on  a 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA.  381 

raised  platform,  and  was  inclosed  in  a gorgeous  shrine. 
This  deeply  interested  us,  as  it  was  said  to  be  a good 
likeness ; and  in  fact  it  entirely  realized  our  expectations 
of  the  mar,  judging  from  his  books.  He  was  of  a mid- 
dle stature,  stout,  and  had  a ready-for-anything  sort  of 
appearance,  a round  full  face,  sanguine  countenance, 
bright  eye^  thin,  closed  lips,  and  a large,  flattish  nose. 
The  whole  thing  gave  us  the  idea  of  a man  thoughtful, 
resolute,  out-spoken,  and  one  that  had  experienced  disap- 
pointment and  sorrow.  In  another  place  there  was  also 
his  likeness,  graven  on  marble,  with  the  same  features, 
and  on  the  east  side  a small  temple,  with  yet  another 
image  of  him,  when  he  was  a very  old  man,  where  the 
same  features  were  strikingly  portrayed,  only  marked 
and  withered  with  age.  On  the  left  hand  of  Mencius  in 
the  main  temple,  also  in  a shrine,  was  an  image  of  his 
favorite  disciple,  Yo-ching-tsze  ; his  countenance  is  full- 
faced,  but  more  sleepy  than  that  of  his  master.  Before 
the  sage,  and  also  in  front  of  the  disciple,  are  frames  on 
which  sacrifices  are  offered,  at  the  proper  seasons,  on  the 
second  and  eighth  months ; and  also  huge  incense  pots. 
The  verandah,  behind  the  temple,  was  likewise  supported 
by  eight  plain  marble  pillars,  and  the  side  verandahs  by 
five  pillars  each. 

Behind  the  main  temple  was  a temple  to  the  father  of 
Mencius,  in  which  was  no  image,  but  only  a tablet  hav- 
ing this  inscription  : “ The  spirits’  resting  place.”  On 
the  east,  there  was  another  small  temple  in  honor  of  his 
great-grandfather. 

Having  surveyed  minutely  the  whole  place,  and  found 
that  the  duke  and  representative  of  the  family  was  at 
home,  we  resolved  to  call  upon  him.  His  residence  is 


382 


RECEXT  VISIT  TO  THE 


on  the  west  side  of  the  street,  leading  to  the  south  gate, 
the  Temple  being  on  the  east  side  opposite. 

Having  arrived  I sent  in  my  cards,  one  English  and 
one  Chinese,  and  was  most  politely  received ; my  teacher 
and  myself  were  invited  into  a side  room,  and  had  tea 
presented  to  us.  After  a little  we  were  called  into  the 
chief  court,  and  there  had  a short  audience  with  the 
duke.  He  was  a man  of  about  sixty-five  years  of  age. 
His  resemblance  to  the  statue  of  Mencius  struck  us  at 
once  : the  same  short,  stout,  active  frame,  frank  open 
demeanor,  and  out-spoken  impulsive  character.  I felt 
deeply  interested  in  him  and  his  family.  He  was  the 
head  of  the  seventieth  generation  from  Mencius. 

The  Emperor  Shin-tsung,  in  a.d.  1083,  issued  an  order 
constituting  Mencius  the  “ Duke  of  Tsow,”  and  also  or- 
dering this  temple  to  be  built.  One  of  his  descendants 
called  He-wan,  of  the  fifty-sixth  generation,  was  made 
by  Kea-tsing,  a.d.  1522-66,  a member  of  the  Han-lin 
college,  and  of  the  Board  in  charge  of  the  “ Five-King 
this  honor  was  to  be  hereditary  in  his  family,  and  the 
holder  of  it  to  preside  at  the  sacrifices  to  his  ancestor. 
I believe  this  office  is  still  continued.  We  know  that  the 
head  of  the  clan  receives  a large  pension  from  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Leaving  this  spot  we  entered  the  South  Gate  ; on  the 
east  side  we  found  a large  tablet  in  honor  of  the  mother 
of  Mencius,  with  an  engraving  on  the  marble,  illustrat- 
ing that  famous  story  of  his  mother  cutting  through  the 
web,  which  she  was  weaving,  to  point  out  to  him  the  evil 
of  his  neglect  of  study ; this  was  on  the  back  of  the  tab- 
let, and  on  the  front  was  an  inscription  saying  that  she 
lived  on  this  spot.  A little  to  the  south  of  this  we  found 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


3 S3 


another  tablet,  telling  us  that  Tze-tse,  the  grandson  of 
Confucius,  dwelt  here,  and  on  this  spot  composed  the 
classic  of  the  Chung-yung,  translated  as  the  “ Golden 
Mean,”  or  the  “ Doctrine  of  the  Mean,”  by  different  sin- 
ologues. 

Having  spent  some  hours  within  the  city,  which  ap- 
peared, comparatively,  a poor  one,  we  made  for  the  burial 
place  of  the  family  of  Mencius.  Their  graves  were 
placed  on  several  hills  about  twenty  li  from  the  city,  cov- 
ered with  forests  of  oak  and  cypress,  and  bushes  of  all 
kinds. 

Arriving  at  the  first  hill  we  obtained  a guide,  who 
quickly  took  us  to  the  tomb  of  the  mother  of  Mencius, 
who  still  occupies  a most  important  place  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  people.  Wending  our  way  through  the  pleas- 
ant woods,  we  were  quite  interested  to  find  such  a multi- 
tude of  grave  stones,  with  their  inscriptions ; the  name 
and  generation  of  the  person  were  always  given  ; and 
thus  one  could  form  a history  of  the  clan  from  their 
tombs.  Here  was  a family  of  the  sixtieth  generation, 
another  of  the  forty-first,  another  of  the  fifteenth,  and 
some  down  as  far  as  the  eighth  or  ninth.  Time  was  too 
short  to  make  out  a complete  list.  At  last  we  came  to 
the  tomb  of  his  mother.  I must  say  I was  disappointed 
with  the  appearance : students  of  Mencius  will  recollect 
that  the  sage  brought  the  body  of  his  mother  from  the 
kingdom  of  Tse,  and  gave  her  such  a splendid  funeral 
that  his  disciples  blamed  him  for  the  expense.  But  the 
tomb  did  not  bear  evidence  of  this.  It  is  merely  a great 
mound,  yet  not  very  great,  on  which  were  growing  bushes 
and  grass.  In  front  of  it  were  three  tablets,  one  in  honor 
of  his  mother,  and  side  ones  explaining,  amongst  other 


3§4 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


things,  that  she  had  not  resided  in  this  district,  but  at 
Tsow-hien,  outside  the  south  gate,  and  that  this  was 
merely  the  spot  where  her  body  lay.  Before  the  three 
tablets  stood  a huge  stone  table,  and  a font  cut  out  of 
stone  for  the  sacrifices, — a sheep,  pig,  etc.,  which  were 
offered  twice  a year  ; at  a little  distance  was  the  small 
temple  where  the  officers  rest  and  prepare  themselves 
for  the  sendee. 

On  inquiry  we  found  that  we  were  fifteen  li  from  the 
tomb  of  the  sage  himself ; and  discovering  that  it  was 
simply  a repetition  of  his  mother’s,  a mound  and  tablets, 
and  nothing  more  important,  we  refrained  from  visiting 
it,  especially  as  it  would  have  thrown  us  so  late.  And 
so  adieu,  Mencius  ! 

We  now  pushed  on  to  Kio-feu-hien,  the  city  of  Confu- 
cius, which  we  reached  about  2:30  p.m.  This  city  is 
much  better  and  busier  than  that  of  Mencius.  It  is  peo- 
pled chiefly  by  the  descendants  of  the  Great  Sage, — 
eight  families  out  of  ten  bearing  his  surname.  It  has 
two  south  gates,  the  one  on  the  west  side  being  unused, 
and  opened  only  on  the  visit  of  an  emperor.  This  gate 
is  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Confucius,  and  leads  directly 
to  it.  The  temple  occupied  a large  portion  of  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  city,  the  chief  part  of  it  standing  on  the 
place  where  Confucius  lived.  Its  arrangement  resem- 
bles that  usually  adopted  in  buildings  of  a similar  class 
in  China,  but  on  a grander  and  more  superb  scale.  Take 
it  all  in  all,  I have  seen  nothing  like  it  in  other  parts  of 
China.  The  inclosure  is  oblong ; the  building  is  thirteen 
halls  deep.  One  square  is  shut  off  from  another  by  grand 
gates.  There  are  also  two  bridges  crossed  by  a grand 
avenue  leading  from  the  magnificent  south  gate,  through 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA.  3S5 

the  inner  gates,  and  on  to  the  main  temple.  The  squares 
are  full  of  tall  old  cypress  trees,  and  the  sides  of  the  ave- 
nue are  crowded  with  tablets  in  honor  of  the  sage ; every 
dynasty  is  here  represented,  and  many  of  the  tablets  were 
thus  extremely  important.  Early  in  the  morning  we  set 
out  to  view  this  place  ; a small  fee  soon  opened  the  door, 
and  we  found  the  keeper  obliging.  The  temple  is  divided 
in  two  parts  by  a thoroughfare  for  the  convenience  of  the 
citizens  to  avoid  a long  circuit,  the  chief  objects  of  inter- 
est lying  on  the  north  side.  To  this  we  went,  and  from 
the  first  moment  we  stepped  in  to  the  last,  my  whole  mind 
was  engaged  by  objects  of  interest ; here  on  the  left  hand 
was  a cypress,  said  to  have  been  planted  by  Confucius 
himself,  and  its  gnarled  and  aged  trunk  bore  evidence  of 
its  great  age ; here  we  were  shown  the  place  where  he 
taught  his  disciples,  now  a huge  pavilion  open  to  the 
south  ; in  it  was  fixed,  in  his  praise,  a poem  composed 
by  Kien-lung,  engraved  on  a marble  tablet.  Now  ap- 
peared the  Grand  Temple,  a high  building,  for  China, 
and  a most  spacious  one  : it  was  two-storied,  the  upper 
verandah  on  gorgeous  marble  pillars  ; these  pillars  were 
at  least  twenty-two  feet  high,  and  about  two  feet  in  diam- 
eter ; around  them,  carved  in  the  solid  stone,  twined  two 
large  dragons  ; the  marble  itself  was  richly  veined.  The 
tiles  of  the  roof  were  of  yellow  porcelain,  as  in  Peking, 
and  the  ornamentation  of  the  eaves  was  all  covered  with 
wire  work,  to  preserve  it  from  the  birds. 

Within  this  building  was  the  image  or  statue  of  Con- 
fucius, like  that  of  Mencius,  only  in  far  richer  style  ; he 
sat  in  a gorgeously  curtained  shrine  holding  a roll  in  his 
hand,  or  rather,  a slip  of  bamboo,  as  it  was  this  material 
that  was  used  for  writing  in  his  days.  The  sitting 
17 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


3S6 

statue  was  about  eighteen  feet  by  six  feet,  the  image  was 
well  clone  and  life-like  ; he  is  represented  as  a strong, 
well-built  man,  with  a full  red  face  and  large  head,  a lit- 
tle heavy;  he  sits  in  the  attitude  of  contemplation,  his 
eyes  looking  upwards.  He  has  a much  more  serious, 
thoughtful  aspect  than  Mencius,  but  not  that  straight- 
forward, dogged  air,  which  the  latter  bore ; his  front  teeth 
were  exposed,  his  nose  thick  and  round  ; on  the  tablet 
was  the  simple  inscription  : “ The  most  Holy  prescient 
sage  Confucius — his  spirit’s  resting  place.” 

On  the  east  were  images  of  his  favorite  disciples  ranged 
in  order,  in  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  said  to  have 
held  them  ; that  of  Mencius  occupied  the  west  side  of 
the  building.  The  roof  was  crowded  with  tablets  in  hon- 
or of  the  sage,  varying  with  one  another  in  extravagant 
praise  ; before  his  image,  and  also  in  front  of  these,  were 
beautiful  incense  pots  ; amongst  them  several  most  inter- 
esting relics  ; here  was  a clay  dish  said  to  be  of  Yaou’s 
time  ( b.c.  2300) ; also  two  bronze  censers,  one  with  a 
lid  bearing  the  date  of  the  Shang  dynasty,  (b.c.  1700- 
1500)  the  work  on  which  was  superb.  Two  bronze  ele- 
phants, dating  from  the  Chow  dynasty,  stood  by,  and  a 
large  table  of  the  same  age  made  of  beautiful,  hard,  dark 
red-wood, — these  things  spoke  volumes  for  the  state  of 
the  nation  in  those  far  back  ages — the  moulding  and  carv- 
ing were  most  exquisite. 

Behind  this  hall  stands  a temple  in  honor  of  the  wife 
of  Confucius.  In  it  was  a tablet,  but  no  image.  In  the 
second  temple,  yet  further  back,  are  four  tablats,  erected 
by  Kang-hi ; bearing  each  one  of  the  characters : which  to- 
gether mean,  “ The  Teacher  of  Ten  Thousand  Ages.”  Here 
also  were  three  engraved  figures  of  the  satre  on  marble : 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


3S7 


one  an  old  man,  full  length,  rather  dim,  having  no  date ; 
the  second,  smaller,  with  seal  characters  on  the  side  ; the 
third,  and  best,  giving  only  his  head  and  shoulders.  These 
varied,  somewhat,  but  were  substantially  alike  ; all  of 
them  gave  the  mouth,  or  lips,  open,  the  front  teeth 
exposed,  and  the  eyes  full  and  contemplative.  Imme- 
diately behind  these  were  incised  drawings  on  marble, 
illustrating  all  the  chief  incidents  in  his  life,  with  appro- 
priate explanations  at  the  side  ; there  were  altogether 
one  hundred  and  twenty  slabs  which  were  built  into  the 
back  wall  ; the  greater  part  of  them  were  in  good  preser- 
vation, and  were  extremely  interesting,  the  more  so  as 
they  gave  us  an  insight  into  the  dress,  kind  of  furniture, 
carriages  and  houses  of  those  ancient  times.  To  the 
west  of  this  are  two  temples ; that  in  front,  in  honor  of 
the  father  of  the  sage,  who  is  said  to  have  governed  Yen- 
chow-fu  and  Tsow-hien;  the  other,  in  honor  of  his  mother. 
They  are  plain  temples,  and  have  no  images,  only  a tab- 
let each.  On  the  east  are  also  temples  to  his  five  ances- 
tors ; here  towards  the  east,  was  a large  block  of  marble, 
on  which  was  engraven  a genealogical  tree,  giving  all  the 
branches  of  his  family ; here  also  a well  from  which  the 
sage  drank.  I got  the  man  to  let  down  a bucket,  and 
tasted  the  water,  which  was  excellent,  though  a little 
sweetish.  On  this  side  also  was  another  building  which 
he  is  said  to  have  used  as  his  school. 

The  southern  division  is  less  interesting  than  the 
northern.  It  contains  nothing  but  what  I have  already 
named : tablets  innumerable,  cypress  trees,  gates,  walls 
and  bridges ; there  are  three  gardens,  four  gates,  and  two 
bridges.  Here  in  ancient  time  is  said  to  have  stood  that 
“ Spirit  Tower  ” alluded  to  in  the  Shoo-King. 


3S8 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


The  duke  Kung,  the  present  head  of  the  family,  lives 
in  a mansion  adjoining  the  temple,  on  the  west ; within 
its  area  was  the  house  in  the  walls  of  which  were  found 
the  classics,  hidden  for  fear  of  that  destroyer  of  litera- 
ture, and  learned  men,  the  Emperor  Tsin,  b.c.  212. 

The  object  of  our  visit  to  Kio-fou-hien  being  com- 
pleted, we  set  off  for  the  tomb  of  Confucius.  It  lies  to 
the  north  of  the  city  at  a distance  of  about  a mile  ; a fine 
avenue  of  old  cypress  trees  leads  direct  from  the  north 
gate  to  the  burial  ground  ; this  avenue  is  crossed  by 
several  arches,  some  of  which  are  of  much  interest ; 
approaching  the  burial  ground  we  saw  a forest  of  oak, 
cypress,  and  many  other  varieties  of  trees,  inclosed  by  a 
high  wall,  within  which  we  learned  was  the  grave.  Hav- 
ing entered  we  passed  through  a grand  gateway,  and 
diverged  by  an  irregular  path  to  the  west ; in  a few  min- 
utes we  came  to  a second  avenue,  not  very  long,  but 
more  interesting  than  the  first ; passing  along  this,  at  the 
sides  were  lions  and  other  creatures  carved  in  stone,  and 
overhead  the  unfailing  cypress.  We  shortly  came  to  a 
house  where  the  sacrifices  to  the  sage  were  prepared ; a 
little  farther  we  were  shown  a tree,  planted,  it  was  said, 
by  Tze-kung,  one  of  his  disciples,  and  here  also  a taste- 
ful pavilion  erected  by  Kien-lung  the  Emperor  ; moving 
onwards  we  passed  the  tomb  of  Tsi-sze,  the  grandson  of 
Confucius,  the  author  of  the  Chung-yung,  and  whom  a 
tradition  relates  to  have  been  the  preceptor  of  Mencius. 
Peace  to  his  ashes  ! justly  does  he  bear  the  title,  “ Phi- 
losopher Tsi-sze,  transmitter  of  the  Sage.” 

Advancing,  we  passed  two  sages  in  stone,  larger  than 
life,  facing  one  another,  and  holding  in  their  hands  bam- 
boo scrolls.  We  were  now  at  the  tomb,  a high  mound 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA. 


3S9 


like  a little  hill  overgrown  with  trees  and  shrubs,  and,  in 
front  of  it,  the  usual  font  and  tables  for  sacrifices.  Be- 
side it  stood  a huge  tablet,  on  which  were  engraven  in 
seal  characters,  the  name  and  doings  of  Confucius  ; it 
was  twenty-five  feet  high  by  six  feet  oroad.  On  the  west 
of  the  tomb  was  the  place  where  Tze-kung  sat  and 
watched  over  his  master’s  grave,  and  mourned  for  him ; 
it  was  originally  a mere  hut  of  reeds,  but  now  a pretty 
little  house  has  been  erected  on  the  spot  in  memory  of 
his  self-denial.  He  is  preeminently  respected  by  the 
Chinese,  inasmuch  as  while-  many  of  the  disciples  built 
huts  around  the  grave,  and  dwelt  there  for  three  years, 
he  alone  remained  three  additional  years,  sorrowing  for 
his  master.  On  the  west  of  the  tomb  of  the  sage  we 
have  that  of  his  son,  Le,  the  father  of  Tsi-ze,  and  all 
around  the  graves  of  the  representatives  of  the  clan, 
among  whom  are  not  a few  most  worthy  men.  Towards 
the  east  are  the  graves  of  less  important  descendants, 
and,  as  on  the  burial  grounds  of  the  family  of  Mencius, 
we  found  the  grave-stones  all  marked  in  generations 
from  the  sage. 

In  the  same  direction,  a few  li  outside  the  city  gate, 
lies  the  temple  of  the  “ Duke  of  Chow,”  the  great  ideal 
statesman  whom  Confucius  so  constantly  held  up  for 
imitation.  We  approached  the  spot  with  no  little  in- 
terest, knowing  that  here  we  should  see  his  statue,  a re- 
puted likeness.  The  building  stands  in  a large  inclosure 
full  of  old  cypress  trees.  On  the  left  and  right  of  the 
avenues  by  which  we  approached  are  tablets  erected  to 
his  honor  by  almost  every  dynasty : here  is  one  so  far 
back  as  the  Tang,  another  by  the  Yuen,  and  so  on  to  the 
present  day.  One  more  conspicuous  than  its  fellows 


39° 


RECENT  VISIT  TO  THE 


proved  to  have  been  erected  by  Kang-hi,  in  his  twenty- 
sixth  year. 

A little  to  the  east  of  the  temple  of  duke  Chow,  some 
five  li  from  Kio-fou,  lies  the  temple  of  the  ancient  em- 
peror Shaou-Haou.  It  is  contained  within  an  oblong 
inclosure  surrounded  by  a high  wall.  Entering  by  the 
south,  we  passed  up  a long  avenue  of  old  cypress  trees, 
then  through  another  gate  into  a garden  ; at  the  north  of 
this  garden  stands  a temple  in  which  there  were  no  im- 
ages, but  only  a place  for  a tablet  of  the  deceased — the 
tablet,  we  were  told,  was  in  the  city  being  repaired.  In 
front  were  two  tables,  erected  by  Kien-lung  in  honor  of 
this  emperor,  and  behind  the  place  for  the  tablet  were 
red  boards  on  which  dragons  were  profusely  painted.  But 
the  most  interesting  object  lay  behind  this  building. 
Here  was  the  tomb  itself ; it  was  a pyramid  built  of 
large  blocks  of  granite  compactly  placed  together ; on 
the  top  was  a small  house,  made  with  turned-up  eaves, 
in  the  present  Chinese  fashion,  and  covered  with  porce- 
lain brick.  An  old  tree  grew  out  of  the  middle  of  the 
pyramid,  and  gave  the  whole  thing  a most  venerable  ap- 
pearance. The  pyramid  was  not  at  all  to  be  compared 
to  the  Egyptian  ones  for  size,  but  of  the  same  shape,  and 
instantly-reminded  one  of  them.  Anywhere  but  in  China 
would  we  look  for  such  structures.  But  this  is  another 
indication  of  the  antiquity  of  the  Chinese,  and  the  one- 
ness of  the  human  race. 

Within  the  city  is  also  a temple  in  honor  of  Yen- 
hwuy,  or  Tze-yuen,  the  favorite  disciple  of  Confucius, 
who  was  for  some  time  inconsolable  at  his  early  death ; 
on  this  account,  and  not  for  anything  Yen-hwuy  has  done 
or  said,  the  Chinese  have  conceived  an  extraordinary 


CLASSIC  GROUNDS  OF  CHINA.  39 1 

esteem  for  him.  His  temple,  which  stands  inside,  is 
grander  than  that  of  Mencius,  and  his  tomb,  which,  like 
his  master’s,  lies  in  a beautiful  forest,  is  held  sacred  to 
this  day. 

Satiated  with  sight-seeing,  we  now  turned  our  faces 
toward  Sz-shui  Lien,  and  hastened  our  steps  as  the  after- 
noon was  far  advanced,  and  we  had  fifteen  miles  before 
us  ; and  yet  we  could  not  hurry,  the  whole  district  was  so 
full  of  interest.  There  on  the  southeast  of  us  was  the 
Ne-kew  hill,  or  the  Ne  hill,  to  which  Ching-tsai,  the 
mother  of  Confucius,  went  to  pray  for  a son. 

North  of  us  are  the  hills  among  which  stands  one  of 
the  five  sacred  mountains  of  China,  and  the  chief  of  them, 
viz:  the  Tai-shan,  or  Tai  hill.  There  Shun  offered  sac- 
rifices first  on  his  great  journey  to  survey  his  kingdom. 
The  sacrifice  was  offered  in  the  sacred  month  of  the 
year,  about  B.c.  2272. 

The  river  on  whose  banks  our  road  partly  lay,  and  on 
which  we  were  impinging  every  now  and  then,  was  also 
historical ; it  is  the  Sz-shui  river  spoken  of  in  the  Tribute 
of  Yu,  b.c.  2210,  famous  for  its  sounding  stones,  which 
formed  part  of  the  taxes. 

Arriving  at  Sz-shui-hien  after  nightfall,  we  had  some 
difficulty  in  obtaining  an  entrance,  but  noticing  no  ob- 
ject of  interest,  we  proceeded  early  on  our  way.  On 
our  route  we  visited  the  temple  of  Tse-loo,  another  of  the 
disciples  of  Confucius ; his  statue  interested  us.  His 
temple  is  now  out  of  repair,  but  his  memory  is  still  fresh 
and  fragrant. 

This  city,  Sz-shui-hien,  stands  at  the  limit  of  the  level 
country.  Leaving  it,  the  ground  begins  to  ascend,  and 
becomes  gradually  more  and  more  rugged.  We  passed 


392 


RECENT  VISIT 


several  villages,  and  reached  Woo-tai  just  after  the  sun 
had  gone  down ; spending  the  night  here  amidst  discom- 
forts, we  in  the  morning  set  off  for  the  city  of  Hung-yin- 
hien. 

Passing  on,  we  came  in  sight  of  another  historical  ob- 
ject, the  eastern  Mung  hill,  which  is  mentioned  as  having 
been  brought  under  cultivation  after  the  waters  had  been 
carried  off  by  Yu,  and  on  which,  in  ancient  times,  sacri- 
fices had  been  offered,  as  we  infer  from  the  remarks  of 
Confucius  in  the  Lun-Yu.  It  is  also  famous  as  having, 
in  modern  times,  called  forth  the  poetical  genius  of  Kien- 
lung,  who  composed  a piece  of  poetry  in  view  of  its  snow- 
clad  summit,  on  one  of  his  journeys  to  the  southern  parts 
of  his  kingdom.  Not  far  from  this  hill  is  another  called 
Yu,  where  Shun  kept  Kwan,  the  father  of  the  great  engi- 
neer, till  he  died.  It  was  also  from  the  valleys  in  the 
neighborhood  that  the  famous  variegated  pheasants’ 
feathers  came,  which  are  also  mentioned  in  that  sort  of 
dooms-day  book,  and  which  were,  even  in  those  times, 
used  for  military  decorations. 

On  the  succeeding  days  our  party  passed  through  the 
Hien  city  of  Wei,  the  country  undulating  and  gravelly. 
Advancing,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Lai-chow  hills,  where 
lived  the  wild  tribes,  whom  Yu  instructed  in  the  art  of 
tillage  and  pasturage,  nor  does  his  teaching  seem  to  have 
been  ineffectual. 

We  next  set  out  for  Hwang-hien,  which  we  reached  in 
two  days ; we  were  entering  that  district  called  in  old 
times  Yu-e,  the  place  to  which  the  emperor  Yaou  is  sup- 
posed, with  justice,  to  have  sent  the  astronomer  “ He,” 
b.c.  2300,  to  observe  the  rising  sun.  From  Hwang  a 
short  journey  took  us  to  Che-foo,  the  termination  of  our 
long  trip. 


REMARKS  ON  THE  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  SAGES.  393 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 

REMARKS  ON  THE  DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  THE  CHINESE 
SAGES,  AND  THE  INFLUENCE  WHICH  THOSE  DOCTRINES 
HAVE  EXERTED  ON  THE  CHINESE  MIND. 

When  people  have  been  engaged  in  reading  a book  in 
concert,  it  is  pleasant  to  sit  down  together  and  converse 
about  it.  We  have  been  reading  a synopsis  of  the  Four 
Books,  with  a sketch  of  the  lives  of  their  authors  and 
compilers,  together  with  a variety  of  specimens  of  more 
modern  Chinese  literature.  We  also  have  access  to  books 
which  portray  the  character  and  condition  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  China  at  the  present  day  ; and  now,  perhaps,  we 
are  prepared  to  make  a few  reflections  concerning  the 
character  of  the  sages,  the  nature  of  their  doctrines,  and 
the  influence  which  these  doctrines  have  exerted  on  the 
people  of  China. 

We  may  remark,  first,  upon  their  Proverbs  and  Moral 
Maxims.  The  reader,  as  well  as  ourselves,  has  been 
struck  with  them.  How  much  like  Scripture  some  of 
them  are  ! but  generally  we  notice  that  they  fall  short  of 
the  high  standard  of  morality  which  we  find  in  the  Bible. 
In  several  places  we  find  that  which  at  first  sight  may 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


r*C!  I 
js-r 

seem  to  read  almost  like  the  precept,  “ love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself,”  but  nowhere  do  we  find  the  command- 
ment, “ love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart.” 

NOTIONS  RESPECTING  A DEITY. 

In  regard  to  this  we  may  say,  in  the  first  place,  that 
they  had  no  knowledge — at  least,  no  clear  knowledge  of 
that  God  who  is  a being  worthy  to  be  loved  with  all  the 
heart,  soul,  mind  and  strength.  When  they  referred  to 
heaven  as  the  power  which  decrees,  rewards  and  punish- 
es, we  are  uncertain  as  to  the  nature  of  their  conceptions 
respecting  that  power.  Undoubtedly  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  God  was  possessed  by  those  who  first  migrated 
from  the  plains  of  Shinar  to  that  country  which  was  to 
become  the  land  of  Sinim  ; but  by  the  lapse  of  time  that 
knowledge  faded  out,  till  down  to  the  times  of  Confucius 
and  Mencius  there  remained  no  clear  conception  of  an 
intelligent,  personal,  all-powerful  deity,  ordering  and  con- 
trolling the  affairs  of  the  universe.  From  what  we  read  in 
their  works  about  the  Tai  Kik,  and  the  Dual  Principles 
which  first  produced  the  different  formations,  and  the  va- 
rious beings  in  the  universe,  and  which,  as  all  Chinese  at 
present  believe,  still  pervade  all  things,  we  are  forced  to 
conclude  that  the  wise  men  of  Confucius’  time  were  in 
their  theology  but  little,  if  anything  better  than  pantheists  ; 
although  they  did  believe  in  the  existence  of  many  spir- 
its who  might  be  almost  ubiquitous,  and  who  presided 
over  their  several  departments : they  believed  also  that 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  still  hovered  around  the  places  of 
their  former  residences  ; that  they  were  capable  of  receiv- 
ing pleasure  or  pain  from  what  they  observed  in  the 


NOTIONS  RESPECTING  A DEITY. 


395 


actions  of  men ; that  they  were  pleased  with  the  proper 
offerings  rendered  to  them,  and  displeased  at  the  neglect 
of  such  service ; and  they  believed  that  these  departed 
spirits  were  able  in  some  way  to  help  or  to  injure  people 
on  the  earth  • and  therefore  prayers  were  offered  to  them, 
and  offerings  made  in  order  to  propitiate  them. 

THE  FIRST  AND  GREAT  COMMANDMENT  NOT  FOUND  IN 
THE  CHINESE  CLASSICS. 

As  we  remarked  above,  we  do  not  find  amongst  the 
precepts  of  the  sages  anything  like  that  first  and  great 
commandment  of  the  Bible  which  reads,  “ thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart ; ” and  how  could 
there  be  ? We  can  love  a personal  deity  that  possesses 
attributes  worthy  of  love ; but  there  is  nothing  in  the 
idea  of  an  all-pervading  generating  principle  which  awak- 
ens in  the  breast  emotions  of  love  or  adoration.  Men 
may  have  some  vague  conception  of  an  agency  residing 
somewhere  in  the  heavens  above  us,  in  the  earth  beneath 
us,  or  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  which  has  power  to 
punish  wickedness  and  reward  virtue ; power  to  benefit  or 
to  afflict  men,  by  changes  which  they  are  able  to  produce 
in  the  elements  of  nature  ; but  that  would  not  be  a God 
whom  men  can  love.  The  Chinese  religion  therefore 
lacked  the  main  element — the  principal  root  from  which 
all  true  morality  must  spring ; for  where  there  is  not  in 
the  mind  the  knowledge  of  a God  who  is  a being  of  infi- 
nite power,  wisdom,  justice,  goodness,  and  truth  ; loving 
holiness  and  hating  iniquity  ; and  in  the  heart  a feeling 
of  admiration  for  his  excellencies,  with  a dread  of  his 
wrath,  as  well  as  a desire  for  his  approval  and  favor,  we 


39^ 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


will  look  in  vain  for  that  universal  or  general  brother- 
hood which  is  exhibited  in  a love  for  others  even  as  we 
love  ourselves. 

But  love,  moreover,  being  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spir- 
it, we  will  not  be  disappointed  if  we  fail  to  find  the  fruit 
from  soil  in  which  the  seed  has  not  been  sown. 

RECIPROCITY. 

We  have  said  that  we  find  in  the  writings  of  the  sages 
that  which  reminds  us  somewhat  of  the  precept,  Love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself;  and  yet  we  have  not  found  quite 
that.  We  have  the  golden  rule  several  times  stated  in 
its  negative  form,  “ do  not  to  others  what  you  would  not 
have  others  do  to  you,”  and  rarely  the  positive  form,  “ do 
to  others  as  you  would  that  others  should  do  to  you  ; ” 
and  to  this,  people  may  be  exhorted  by  appealing  merely 
to  selfish  considerations. 

RETRI15UTION  IN  THE  PRESENT  LIFE. 

We  have  observed  in  the  readings  before  us  that  the 
sanctions  of  law,  and  the  rewards  and  punishments  for 
good  and  bad  conduct,  nearly  all  have  reference  to  the 
present  life.  In  one  of  their  books,  “ The  Mirror  of 
the  Mind,”  we  have  the  formula,  “ Good  has  its  good  re- 
ward evil  has  its  evil  recompense  : if  as  yet  there  is  no 
recompense,  then  the  time  for  it  has  not  arrived.  Good 
and  evil  surely  will  have  their  respective  rewards  : fly 
high  or  run  far  it  will  be  difficult  to  escape  them.”  But 
this  reward  or  punishment  was  supposed  to  be  such  as 
might  be  expected  in  this  life  ; what  they  considered  as 


RETRIBUTION  IN  THE  PRESENT  LIFE.  397 

comprehended  in  the  general  terms  “ good  fortune,”  or 
“ evil  fortune.”  The  “ Five  Happinesses,”  which  are  so 
often  seen  inscribed  on  five  separate  slips  of  red  or  gilt 
paper,  and  fluttering  over  the  doors  of  Chinese  houses, 
are,  Long  Life,  Riches,  Health,  Virtue,  and  a Natural 
Death. 

There  is,  as  we  see,  nothing  here  which  reaches  be- 
yond the  present  life. 

This  statement,  we  are  aware,  will  surprise  those  who 
remember  what  they  have  read  in  the  Budhist  Tract 
amongst  the  “ selections  ; ” it  may  also  surprise  some 
who  call  to  mind  what  they  have  witnessed  in  the  tem- 
ples of  the  Budhist  sect  in  China.  There  they  have  seen 
representations  in  clay,  or  upon  paper,  of  all  manner  of 
torments  which  the  imagination  can  invent,  such  as  are 
supposed  to  be  suffered  by  the  souls  of  the  departed  who 
have  failed  of  entering  the  happy  land  of  Budha.  To 
relieve  the  reader’s  mind  of  this  difficulty  we  have  only 
to  remind  him  that  we  have  been  speaking  only  of  the 
theological  views  of  the  sages,  and  the-religious  doctrines 
taught  in  the  Four  Books,  so  far  as  religion  is  taught  in 
them  at  all.  Purgatory,  transmigration,  accumulation  of 
merit,  prayers  and  sacrifices  to  deliver  souls  from  purga- 
tory, fasting,  penances,  pilgrimages,  celibacy,  asceticism, 
all  were  originally  peculiar  to  the  Budhist  sect ; though 
at  present  the  people  almost  universally  believe  in  these 
doctrines,  and  practice  according  to  them. 

The  Budhist  religion  was  not  introduced  into  China 
till  after  the  middle  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian 


era. 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


398 


ALL  MEN  ARE  BRETHREN. 

The  sages  taught  that  all  between  the  four  seas  are 
brethren ; Chinese  teachers  and  essayists  of  all  ages 
down  to  the  present  time  have  been  reiterating  the  same  ; 
but  no  amount  of  exhortation  has  had  the  effect  to  make 
them  live  together  and  love  each  other  altogether  as 
brethren  of  one  family  ought  to  love.  China  has  seldom 
been  free  from  strifes  and  wars  of  greater  or  less  magni- 
tude in  one  part  of  the  kingdom  or  another ; while  the 
policy  of  the  Chinese  government,  and  the  conduct  of 
many  of  the  Chinese  people  towards  those  who  were 
termed  “ outside  barbarians,”  is  an  evidence  that  they 
did  not  consider  the  term  “ all  within  the  four  seas  ” as 
comprehending  any  outside  of  the  Chinese  empire. 

But  while  China  should  be  condemned  for  its  exclu- 
siveness, and  its  unbrotherly  treatment  of  foreigners,  it 
must  be  conceded  that  there  is  very  much  to  be  com- 
mended in  the  treatment,  and  in  the  respect  which  Chi- 
namen extend  toward  each  other. 

While  remarking  on  this  subject,  we  may  notice  that 
the  books  they  read,  their  rules  for  ceremonies  and  eti- 
quette, all  the  prescribed  forms  for  teaching  in  the  family 
and  the  school,  inculcate  a style  of  address  the  most  re- 
spectful. Persons  older  than  one’s  self  are  to  be  ad- 
dressed as  “elder  brothers,”  and  those  younger  as 
“ younger  brothers  the  aged  as  “ venerable  sir,”  “ sen- 
ior born  favors  are  humbly  and  respectfully  solicited  ; 
and  when  received  are  thankfully  acknowledged.  As  to 
acts  of  benevolence,  mutual  aid,  care  for  the  sick,  infirm 
and  aged,  or  assistance  provided  for  the  poor,  we  may 


THE  COMMANDMENT  WITH  PROMISE. 


399 


safely  say  that  in  these  things  the  Chinese  far  excel  all 
other  people  of  whom  we  have  had  knowledge  who  have 
not  partaken  of  the  spirit  of  Him  who  so  loved  the  world 
as  to  die  for  it.  And  here  we  may  remark  that  nothing 
is  more  common  in  the  experience  of  the  missionary 
amongst  the  Chinese  than  to  hear  those  of  that  people  to 
whom  he  is  reading  or  repeating  portions  of  the  proverbs 
and  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  applauding  the  same  : 
they  will  say  ; “ How  true  ! How  good  ! How  like  what 
Confucius  taught ! ” 

In  the  frequent  giving  of  presents,  the  making  of 
feasts,  the  gatherings  for  social  intercourse,  the  abundant 
epistolary  correspondence  between  relatives  and  friends, 
we  have  additional  evidence  that  the  friendly  and  frater- 
nal feelings  are  carefully  fostered  amongst  them. 

THE  COMMANDMENT  WITH  PROMISE. 

The  respect  which  in  China  is  accorded  to  age,  and 
the  honor  given  to  gray  hairs,  are  not  equaled  in  any  other 
country ; and  in  this  they  have  better  remembered  and 
more  carefully  observed  the  precepts  of  their  great  teacher 
than  even  those  who  daily  read  that  Book  which  says, 
“ Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honor 
the  face  of  the  old  man.”  Whatever  judgments  may 
come  upon  Chinamen  for  other  sins,  the  instances  must 
be  very  few  in  which  that  punishment  will  be  executed 
which  is  threatened  against  him  who  “ mocketh  at  his 
father,  and  despiseth  to  obey  his  mother.” 

A peculiarly  striking  feature  of  the  teachings  of  Con- 
fucius is  the  prominence  given  to  the  filial  and  fraternal 
duties ; and  could  Confucius  revisit  the  scenes  of  his 


4od 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


earthly  labors,  where  he  so  often  lamented  that  his  prin- 
ciples were  not  followed  ; could  he  pass  around  amongst 
the  hundreds  of  millions  of  his  “ black-haired  people,” 
he  would  find  them  everywhere  and  universally  regard- 
ing his  instructions  ; having  exceeded,  rather  than  fallen 
short,  in  the  keeping  of  those  precepts,  either  in  their 
letter  or  spirit. 

None  of  those  in  whose  hearing  the  Fifth  Command- 
ment is  repeated  every  Sabbath  day  keep  it  more  per- 
fectly than  do  the  Chinese  people.  This  fifth  precept  of 
the  Decalogue  is  a “commandment  with  promise,” — a 
promise  “ that  thy  days  may  be  long  in  the  land  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee.”  No  other  people  have 
kept  this  Commandment  so  well  as  the  Chinese,  and  to 
no  other  people  has  God  for  so  long  a time  given  a home, 
with  comparative  peace  and  prosperity,  as  he  has  given 
to  those  who  for  four  thousand  years  have  occupied  the 
country  which  he  first  meted  out  to  them. 

Whether  there  has  been  any  such  connection  as  this 
reference  to  the  Fifth  Commandment  naturally  suggests 
between  the  honor  which  the  Chinese  render  to  parents 
and  seniors,  and  the  long  enjoyment  of  the  land  which 
God  has  given  them,  the  reader  can  judge  as  well  as  we. 

PARENTS  HONORED  TOO  MUCH. 

While  the  Chinese,  in  the  matter  of  honoring  parents, 
have  not  sinned  on  the  side  of  deficiency,  they  have  griev- 
ously sinned  on  the  side  of  excess.  They  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  render  to  parents  and  ancestors  religious  ser- 
vice ; and  surely  for  this  they  must  incur  the  displeasure 


SPIRITUALISM. 


401 


of  that  being  who  forbids  the  having  any  other  gods  be- 
fore Him. 

The  ancestral  rites  are  something  more  than  ceremo- 
nies to  keep  alive  the  memory  of  the  dead  ; they  are  the 
ceremonies  and  services  by  which  they  attempt  to  “ honor 
and  to  assist  the  dead  as  if  they  were  still  alive.”  Food, 
clothing,  money,  (or  representations  of  these  things)  are 
offered  to  the  dead.  Music,  theatrical  exhibitions  and 
other  entertainments  are  provided  for  them,  with  the  be- 
lief that  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  still  lingering  around  the 
scenes  of  their  former  earthly  residences,  are  delighted  * 
with  the  same  amusements,  and  supported  by  the  same 
aliment,  as  when  they  were  in  the  body.  This,  however, 
is  a fault,  chargeable  to  ignorance  and  folly,  in  which 
Confucius  and  those  who  read  the  instructions  of  Con- 
fucius are  not  alone. 


SPIRITUALISM. 

Had  the  Chinese  stopped  at  this  point,  viz  : the  feed- 
ing, clothing,  and  otherwise  entertaining  the  spirits  of  the 
dead,  their  folly  and  trime  would  have  been  less  than  it 
is  ; for  now  they  worship  them  and  pray  to  them,  either 
imploring  them  directly  to  aid  the  children  and  descend- 
ants who  are  still  here  in  this  world  of  toil  and  trouble ; 
or  else  begging  them  to  intercede  with  the  gods  and  spir- 
its who  have  power  to  confer  blessings  or  avert  calami- 
ties in  the  several  departments  over  which  they  preside. 

The  thorough  belief  of  these  doctrines,  traceable  to 
the  instructions  of  Confucius,  has  led  to  the  peopling  of 
air  and  earth  with  innumerable  disembodied  spirits  : and 
as  the  poor,  and  those  without  male  descendants  that 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


4c  1 

might  have  perpetuated  the  name  and  rendered  the  ac- 
customed worship  to  the  manes  of  the  dead,  have  souls 
as  well  as  the  rich,  therefore  the  people  still  living  have 
all  those  past  generations  of  departed  souls  to  provide 
for ; if  they  please  the  spirits,  the  spirits  may  aid  them 
in  return ; if  they  fail  to  feed  and  clothe  them,  those  spir- 
its may  bring  sickness  into  the  house  and  blight  upon  their 
fields,  or  in  a thousand  other  ways  afflict  them.  Thus  it 
is  that  the  Chinese  are  all  their  lifetime  subject  to  a bond- 
age to  those  spirits  : and  yet,  the  Chinese  are  not  alone 
in  being  Spiritualists. 

BOOK  OF  RITES  DEFICIENT. — DUTIES  TO  WIVES,  SISTERS 
AND  DAUGHTERS,  LEFT  OUT. 

The  reader,  like  ourselves,  has  not  failed  to  notice 
that  while  there  is  much  repetition  and  great  emphasis 
employed  in  explaining  and  enforcing  the  duties  of  chil- 
dren to  parents,  of  brothers  toward  brothers,  of  inferiors 
toward  superiors,  and  the  mutual  relations  of  neighbors 
and  friends,  there  is  a painful  lack  of  all  reference  to  the 
duties  of  brothers  towards  sisters.  Women  are  clearly 
enough  told  how  to  please  and  serve  their  husbands  and 
their  husbands’  parents,  but  we  fail  to  find  in  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Four  Books  exhortations  to  husbands  to  love 
their  wives.  The  whole  tenor  of  the  Chinese  literature 
is  to  indicate  woman’s  place  and  welfare  as  being  of  far 
less  importance  than  that  of  the  man  : her  office  is 
merely  to  minister  to  the  comfort  and  gratification  of 
the  man. 

Very  few  of  the  Chinese  women  are  taught  to  read : 
hundreds  of  thousands  serve  in  the  family  both  as  ser- 


THE  BOOK  OF  RITES  DEFICIENT. 


4°3 


vants  and  concubines  ; and  girls  betrothed,  in  a large 
proportion  of  cases,  are  early  taken  home  to  the  house 
of  their  future  father-in-law  to  be  for  years  before  mar- 
riage, and  ever  afterward,  while  the  mother-in-law  shall 
live,  obliged  to  do  the  bidding  and  to  be  subject  to  the 
whims  of  the  mother  of  the  person  to  whom  they  have 
been  espoused. 

There  is  always  great  rejoicing  at  the  birth  of  a 
son  ; it  is  considered  very  impolite  to  congratulate  a 
father  on  the  birth  of  a daughter.  Girls,  when  married, 
go  out  of  their  own  father’s  house  emphatically,  and  are 
no  longer  regarded  as  members  of  it,  or  expected  to  par- 
ticipate in  its  pleasures  or  sorrows. 

We  see,  therefore,  what  a need  there  is  in  China  for 
that  Book  whose  influence  has  procured  for  women  in 
Christian  lands  that  place  which  they  enjoy  as  man’s 
companion  and  comfort,  his  helpmeet  and  his  equal  par- 
ticipant in  all  the  privileges  which  fill  the  present  with 
usefulness  and  pleasure,  and  which  reveals  a future  of 
infinite  blessedness. 

There  is,  however,  a remarkable  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral rule,  which  we  observe  in  the  obedience  and  respect 
which  children  are  required  to  render  to  the  mother  of 
the  family.  And  here  the  distinction  between  the  proper 
wife  and  the  concubines  must  not  be  overlooked.  The 
one  proper  wife  is  mistress  over  the  concubines,  and  all 
the  children  of  the  family  call  this  one  person  mother, 
and  yield  obedience  to  her  as  such. 

As  throughout  China  there  is  universally  great  rever- 
ence for  age,  so  the  older  women  seem  to  be  more  hon- 
ored ; while  the  aged  mothers  and  grandmothers,  next  to 
fathers  and  grandfathers,  are  reverenced  by  their  chil- 


404 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


dren  and  grandchildren.  Living  grandparents  are  even 
bowed  down  to,  on  particular  occasions,  with  the  same 
forms  as  when  the  deceased  ancestors  are  worshiped. 

RULERS  HONORED. 

We  have  spoken  of  a Chinaman’s  reverence  for  pa- 
rents and  respect  for  superiors  : their  regard  for  rulers 
and  all  in  authority  is  as  marked,  in  its  way,  as  this  re- 
gard for  parents  ; indeed,  it  was  a prime  element  in  the 
doctrines  of  Confucius  and  Mencius,  that  the  emperor  is 
the  parent  of  the  people,  and  as  the  head  of  the  family 
must  receive  the  respect  and  obedience  of  the  household, 
so  must  the  emperor  be  honored  and  obeyed  by  all  his 
subjects ; likewise  his  ministers  and  subordinate  officers 
should  be  honored,  each  according  to  his  rank.  This 
will  account  in  part  for  the  attachment  of  the  Chinese  to 
their  own  country,  and  their  belief  that  their  form  of 
government  is  superior  to  any  other.  It  will  go  far  also 
towards  accounting  for  the  long  continuance  of  the  em- 
pire. There  is  another  reason  why  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment, though  in  many  respects  weak  and  often  with  an 
empty  treasury,  still  holds  together;  the  reason  is  this, 
viz  : because  anciently  it  was  taught,  and  because  still 
by  most  of  the  people  it  is  believed,  that  the  emperor  is 
the  vicegerent  of  Heaven  and  Earth  to  receive  their  com- 
mands, and  in  their  stead  to  govern  the  people  of  the 
earth  ; hence  to  disregard  the  commands  of  the  emperor 
is  to  disobey  the  mandates  of  Heaven  ; hence,  also,  the 
Chinese  have  for  ages  believed  that  China  was  the  middle 
kingdom,  that  the  Chinese  emperor  was  above  all  the 
kings  and  princes  of  the  earth,  and  that  he  is  entitled  to 


THE  WHOLE  DUTY  OF  MAN. 


405 

homage  and  tribute  from  the  rulers  of  all  the  outside 
countries  and  islands. 

THE  FIVE  RELATIONS — THE  WHOLE  DUTY  OF  MAN. 

After  a thorough  examination  of  the  doctrines  taught 
by  the  Chinese  sages,  we  infer  that  the  sum  of  their 
moral  code  would  be  an  observance  of  the  duties  be- 
longing to  what  they  are  accustomed  to  style  the  “ Five 
Relations;”  and  indeed,  we  find  an  express  declaration 
to  this  purport,  viz  : that  the  whole  duty  of  man  consists 
in  an  “ observance  of  the  five  relations  of  society,  the 
taking  care  in  regard  to  food,  and  for  funeral  ceremonies, 
and  for  sacrifices.”  The  “ Five  Relations  ” are,  those  ex- 
isting between  emperor  and  prince,  father  and  son,  hus- 
band and  wife,  between  brothers,  and  between  friends. 

There  is  no  mention,  as  we  see,  of  man’s  relations 
to  his  Maker ; wherefore  some  religious  teachers  whom 
we  know  are  accustomed,  when  speaking  on  this  subject, 
to  say,  that  it  is  necessary  to  add  one  to  the  category, 
and  to  speak  of  the  Six  Relations,  rather  than  of  Five 
— adding  this  : the  relation  between  God  and  man,  as  the 
first  and  most  important. 

The  “ Five  Constant  Virtues  ” are  very  often  men- 
tioned in  connection  with  the  Five  Relations.  Those 
Five  Virtues  are,  Benevolence,  Righteousness,  Polite- 
ness, Wisdom,  Sincerity. 

THE  ORIGINAL  HEART. 

That  which  will  by  many  be  regarded  as  the  most  no- 
ticeable feature  in  the  discussions  of  Confucius  and  Men- 
cius is  the  prominence  they  give  to  moral  subjects,  and 
the  manner  in  which  they  treat  them. 


406 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


Their  views  regarding  human  nature  as  good,  the  fact 
that  no  person  is  found  who  is  altogether  good,  the  in- 
ference, therefore,  that  all  mankind  very  early  by  some 
means  lose  their  “ good  heart,”  the  earnest  exhortations 
to  recover  that  lost  good  heart,  the  standard  of  perfec 
tion  which  the  sages  have  set  up,  their  notions  as  to  what 
constitutes  perfection,  the  complaint  that,  after  all  their 
efforts  to  reform  society,  they  still  find  no  perfect  exam- 
ples, and  their  own  confessions  of  inability  to  attain  to 
the  fullness  of  the  stature  of  even  what  they  regard  as 
the  perfect  man  ; all  these  are  subjects  which  have  ar- 
rested our  attention,  and  on  which  we  have  meditated 
much. 

Evidently  the  doctrine  of  the  Four  Books  is,  that  man 
is  by  nature  good  : over  and  over  again  is  this  repeated. 

Some  have  chosen  to  understand  Mencius  as  intend- 
ing to  say  no  more  than  this,  viz  : “ That  man  has  a na- 
ture which  is  constituted  for  the  practice  of  virtue.” 
Gladly  would  we  put  such  construction  upon  his  words 
if  it  might  consistently  be  done.  But  the  Chinese  gen- 
erally do  understand  him  as  saying,  without  qualification, 
that  man’s  nature  is  good ; and  just  that  is  the  first  sen- 
tence of  the  Trimetrical  Classic,  the  first  book  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  pupils  in  all  their  schools  j which,  ac- 
cording to  one  translation,  reads  thus : 

“ Men  at  their  birth  are  by  nature  radically  good. 

In  this  all  approximate,  but  in  practice  widely  diverge. 
If  not  educated,  the  natural  character  is  changed.” 
That  this  is  what  we  must  understand  Mencius  as 
meaning  to  say  is  clear  from  his  exhorting  men  “ to  re- 
cover again  their  child’s  heart,”  by  which  he  means  their 
original  heart. 


ORIGINAL  HEART. 


407 


Mencius  said,  “ The  tendency  ot  man’s  nature  to  good 
is  like  the  tendency  of  water  to  flow  downwards.” 

“ If  men  do  what  is  not  good,  the  blame  cannot  be 
imputed  to  their  natural  powers.” 

“ To  preserve  one’s  mental  constitution,  and  nourish 
one’s  nature,  is  the  way  to  serve  heaven.” 

“ The  great  end  of  learning  is  nothing  else  but  to  seek 
for  the  lost  mind.” 

Again,  the  term  used  by  Chinese  for  conscience  is,  the 
“ Good  heart ; ” which  they  universally  explain  as  mean- 
ing the  original  good  heart. 

HOW  TO  RECOVER  THE  LOST  HEART. 

While  Mencius  taught  the  doctrine  of  man’s  original 
goodness,  it  was  still  obvious  to  him  that  the  child  soon 
gives  evidence  of  wanting  in  perfection ; therefore  he  con- 
cluded that  the  reason  for  this  early  straying  from  the 
correct  course  must  be  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  bad 
examples.  That  which  is  lost,  however,  may  be  recov- 
ered. In  his  estimation,  the  losing  of  the  original  heart 
is  like  one’s  wandering  from  the  right  road  — a mere  de- 
viation from  the  path  of  virtue.  Thus  it  is  he  discourses 
about  Benevolence,  Propriety,  and  Righteousness : “ Be- 
nevolence is  the  wide  house  in  which  men  should  dwell ; 
Propriety  is  the  correct  position  in  which  the  world 
should  ever  be  found ; and  Righteousness  is  the  great 
path  which  man  should  ever  be  pursuing.” 

.Confucius  and  Mencius  had  no  record  of  that  fall 
which  is  so  great  that,  in  order  to  recover  what  was 
thereby  lost,  man  must  undergo  such  a change  as  that 
about  which  a ruler  of  the  Jews  once  heard  when,  under 


408 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


cover  of  the  darkness,  he  went  to  seek  instruction  from 
one  who  was  called  Jesus. 

THE  CONTEST  BETWEEN  GOOD  AND  EVIL. 

Mencius  sometimes  seems  to  talk  as  though,  in  his 
view,  there  were  antagonistic  principles  in  man — a will 
to  do  good,  and  an  opposing  propensity  to  evil ; as  when 
he  says,  “ Those  who  follow  that  part  of  themselves  which 
is  great  are  great  men ; those  who  follow  that  part  of 
themselves  which  is  little  are  little  men.”  This,  how- 
ever, is  only  saying  in  other  words  that  men  know  what 
ought  to  be  done  better  than  they  do  it.  He  had  ob- 
served, what  all  men  experience,  that  conscience  prompts 
to  one  course  of  action,  while  the  natural  desires  urge  in 
another  direction.  Still  it  is  not  the  struggle  between 
nature  and  grace  of  which  Paul  speaks. 

By  the  “ great  part  of  ourselves  ” of  which  Mencius 
speaks,  we  may  understand  him  to  mean  the  moral  ele- 
ments of  our  constitution ; by  the  “ lower  part,”  the  ap- 
petites and  passions  ; and  in  this  we  have  Mencius  testi- 
fying that  man  is  a law  unto  himself ; that  he  has  a law 
written  on  his  heart ; a conscience  which  accuses,  or  ex- 
cuses. 


PERFECT  VIRTUE HOW  PERFECT  WAS  IT  ? 

As  to  the  definition  of  perfect  virtue — the  measure  of 
the  perfect  man — we  have  in  our  reading  of  this  volume 
noticed  that  the  standard  proposed  by  the  sages  was  im- 
measurably below  the  standard  of  the  Scriptures.  They 
had  no  idea  at  all  of  perfect  holiness.  Their  notions  of 
perfect  virtue  were,  after  all,  only  comparative — nothing 


PERFECT  VIRTUE. 


409 


like  that  of  which  we  conceive  when  we  read  in  another 
Book  about  what  will  be,  “ When  we  all  come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  unto  the  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ.”  They  knew  not  of  that 
law  which  reaches  to  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart;  they  had  no  clear  apprehension  of  the  exist- 
ence and  of  the  attributes  of  the  God  who  is  the  author 
of  this  law,  who  is  infinitely  pure,  and  righteous  alto- 
gether, and  who  requires  us  to  be  holy  even  as  he  is 
holy ; they  had  no  conception  of  the  glorious  heights  of 
heavenly  wisdom,  righteousness,  and  purity’,  to  which  all 
those  will  surely  be  elevated  who,  by  the  law  as  their 
school-master,  are  brought  to  Christ,  and  who  yield  them- 
selves to  the  renewing  and  purifying  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

Far,  however,  as  was  the  standard  of  perfect  virtue 
which  was  set  up  by  Confucius  and  Mencius  below  that 
of  the  Bible,  we  must,  nevertheless,  acknowledge  that  it 
is  as  nearly  perfect  as  anything  which  man  has  put  forth 
in  any  age. 

The  old  Grecian  and  Roman  philosophers  did  not 
rise  higher  in  their  ideal  of  perfection  than  did  Confu- 
cius, and  we  doubt  if  they  rose  so  high ; and  no  preach- 
ers of  mere  morality  of  our  own  times,  point  out  nobler 
aims  than  did  the  Chinese  sages ; nor  can  they  urge  the 
people  to  the  attainment  of  them  with  more  enthusiasm, 
diligence,  and  persistency  than  did  those  sages  and  their 
disciples. 

The  reader  has  found  the  examination  of  this  book 
interesting,  for  one  reason  among  others — because  it  has 

18 


4ia 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


enabled  him  to  see  how  near  to  the  truth  people  may 
come  who  were  situated  as  were  the  early  inhabitants  of 
China,  and  without  the  light  of  revelation  ; and  having 
had  our  admiration  called  forth  at  this  point,  we  are  very 
anxious  to  press  our  investigations  further,  until  we  as- 
certain what  this  system  of  teaching  has  done  for  China, 
and  what  it  accomplished  in  the  persons  of  the  sages 
themselves. 

WHAT  HAS  CONFUCIAN  PHILOSOPHY  EFFECTED  IN  CHINA  ? 

On  this  subject  we  observe  that  the  experiment,  as  to 
what  philosophy  can  do  for  a nation,  has  been  tried 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  and  tried  un- 
weariedly ; and  if  it  was  possible  to  succeed  anywhere, 
it  must  have  succeeded  in  China : therefore,  after  a train- 
ing of  twenty-three  centuries,  we  might  have  expected  to 
find  in  the  Middle  Kingdom  a people  nearly  perfect — 
perfect  when  tried  by  the  “ measuring  line  ” of  the  Confu- 
cian  school. 

When  Confucius  was  delivering  his  lectures,  collating 
the  histories  and  moral  discourses  of  the  ancient  em- 
perors, and  writing  out  his  own  counsels  and  reflections, 
he  had  the  field  almost  entirely  to  himself : there  were 
not  then,  as  there  are  now,  many  different  systems  of 
religion  and  conflicting  doctrinal  schools.  Confucius 
was  himself  highly  esteemed  for  wisdom,  sincerity,  and 
goodness  by  the  people  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and 
by  succeeding  generations  he  was  regarded  as  endowed 
with  heavenly  virtues. 

When  Confucius  died,  his  principles  were  not  suffered 
to  die;  but  after  him  came  forth  upon  the  stage  many 


THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  CONFUCIAN  PHILOSOPHY.  41I 

admiring  and  zealous  disciples,  to  reiterate  his  discourses 
and  to  transmit  them  unimpaired. 

China,  for  a long  series  of  ages,  has  not  lacked  the 
means  for  transmitting  records  and  instructions.  Before 
the  invention  of  paper,  bamboo  slips  were  prepared,  en- 
graved, and  strung  together  ; and  these  were  their  books. 

Every  generation  since  Confucius,  so  far  as  we  have 
evidence,  has  had  its  readers,  lecturers,  and  essayists, 
whose  object  has  been  to  exhort  the  people  to  virtue,  to 
point  out  and  properly  characterize  all  evil  practices ; and 
the  texts,  with  a large  portion  of  the  matter  of  their  dis- 
courses, have  been  drawn  from  the  writings  of  their  an- 
cient teachers.  As  an  example  of  such  efforts,  the  reader 
will  call  to  mind  that  “ Confucian  Tract”  amongst  the 
“ Selections.” 

They  had  their  schools,  and  we  know  that  always  since 
Confucius  and  Mencius,  the  writings  and  compilations 
of  those  masters,  and  of  their  disciples,  have  been  the 
text  books  studied  by  all  the  scholars,  whether  young  or 
old.  Another  thing  is  true,  viz  : that  the  Chinese  of  all 
classes  and  all  occupations  delight  in  quoting  the  sayings 
of  the  sages.  Ordinary  conversation  is  embellished  by 
sentences  from  the  classics,  and  this  among  the  poorest 
of  the  people.  Maxims,  precepts,  poetical  extracts,  are 
written  on  their  door  posts,  on  their  tea-cups,  their  fans, 
their  chairs,  in  the  “ rest-houses,”  by  the  way-side — ev- 
erywhere, and  whichever  way  they  turn,  these  exhorta- 
tions to  virtue  are  awaiting  the  glance  of  the  dweller  in 
his  house,  and  the  wayfarer  on  the  road. 

This  teaching  begins  with  the  first  dawn  of  the  intel- 
lect, and  follows  the  person  till  the  eyes  and  ears  have 
ceased  from  their  office  as  inlets  of  knowledge,  and  the 


412 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


man  goes  to  render  an  account  for  the  use  which  he  has 
made  of  their  services. 

Again,  China  has  been  isolated  more  than  any  other 
great  nation  has  been.  Whatever  of  good  it  possessed, 
it  was  able  to  keep ; whatever  evil  it  did  not  want,  it 
could,  in  a great  measure,  keep  at  a distance. 

And  now  we  may  submit  the  question  to  any  reasona- 
ble person,  whether  the  experiment  as  to  what  philosophy 
and  the  teaching  of  morality  can  do  for  man  could  have 
ever  been  tried  under  more  favorable  circumstances  ? 

i st.  There  was  the  seed,  as  good  and  pure  as  mere 
philosophers  have  ever  offered  to  the  world. 

2d.  There  was  the  soil,  fully  as  susceptible  of  receiv- 
ing good  seed  as  has  ever  been  found  upon  this  earth  ; 
and  that  was  at  first  almost  a virgin  soil,  not  preoccupied 
by  the  rank  weeds  of  many  heresies  and  false  religions. 

3d.  There  were  the  husbandmen  zealous  and  untiring 
in  sowing,  in  weeding,  and  in  watering. 

And  now  will  the  reader  walk  through  the  field  and 
give  a report  as  to  what  kind  of  a harvest  there  has  been, 
or  is  in  prospect ; and  then  having  ascertained  the  na- 
ture and  results  of  this  husbandry  elsewhere,  he  will  be 
prepared  to  report  on  the  desirableness  or  otherwise  of 
relying  upon  similar  means  for  elevating  other  races  to 
the  rank  of  civilized  and  enlightened  nations. 

Would  it  in  our  own  country  be  desirable  to  throw 
away  the  Bible  and  adopt  Confucius  : or  with  Confu- 
cius to  combine  the  best  of  the  old  Grecian  and  Roman 
philosophers  ? 

Remove  our  candlestick,  and  how  long  before  we  will 
be  where  are  at  the  present  hour  the  four  hundred  mil- 
lions of  people,  nearly  all  of  whom  daily  hear  or  repeat 


THE  SAGES  MOURN  THEIR  FAILURE.  413 

portions  of  the  Confucian  philosophy  and  Confucian  mo- 
rality. 

THE  SAGES  MOURN  THE  FAILURE  OF  THEIR  EFFORTS  TO 
REFORM  MANKIND. 

Even  the  sages  themselves  saw  how  difficult  was  the 
task  they  had  undertaken.  They  labored  earnestly  and 
sincerely,  but  they  were  working  in  the  dark.  They 
offered  themselves  as  physicians  to  cure  a very  sick  pa- 
tient, but  they  neither  understood  the  malady,  nor  did 
they  furnish  sufficiently  efficacious  remedies.  They  pre- 
sumed upon  a sound  constitution  in  the  patient — they 
supposed  that  his  nature  was  good,  his  heart  right : they 
knew  not  how  corrupt  it  was,  and  that  it  needed  to  be 
renewed  before  the  motives  could  be  pure,  and  then  the 
actions  right.  They  supposed  that  man  had  only  wan- 
dered from  the  path  of  uprightness,  and  that  he  might 
easily  turn  and  regain  it.  They  knew  not  that  man  is  so 
blinded  and  so  perverse  that  he  will  never  find  the  path, 
and  never  be  willing  to  walk  in  it  till  he  is  made  to  see 
by  Him  who  caused  the  scales  to  fall  from  the  eyes  of 
Saul,  and  till  He  who  works  in  men  to  will  and  to  do, 
turns  their  feet  into  the  ways  of  righteousness. 

The  sages,  we  say,  perceived  how  hard  it  was  to  per- 
suade men  to  be  good.  How  frequent  and  how  sorrow- 
ful were  the  lamentations  of  The  Master:  “A  good  man 
it  is  not  mine  to  see  ; could  I see  a man  possessed  of 
constancy,  that  would  satisfy  me.” 

“ Is  any  one  able  for  one  day  to  apply  his  strength  to 
virtue  ? I have  not  seen  the  case  in  which  his  strength 
would  be  sufficient.” 


414 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


“ Alas  ! how  is  the  path  of  the  Mean  untrodden.  The 
course  of  the  Mean  cannot  be  attained  to.” 

“ The  course  of  the  Mean  is  not  far  to  seek  : each 
man  has  the  law  of  it  in  himself,  and  it  is  to  be  pursued 
with  earnest  sincerity.” 

Similar  also  were  his  laments  respecting  himself.  He 
claimed  not  to  be  perfect ; he  lamented  that  he  had  not 
attained  even  to  that  standard  which  he  held  up  for  oth- 
ers : he  says,  “ In  letters,  I am,  perhaps,  equal  to  other 
men ; but  the  character  of  the  perfect  man,  carrying  out 
in  his  conduct  what  he  professes,  is  what  I have  not  yet 
attained  to.” 

We  admire  his  lofty  aspirations,  and  his  struggles  for 
the  attainment  of  perfect  virtue.  We  admire  the  zeal 
and  vigor  with  which  he  endeavors  to  invite,  to  animate, 
and  to  urge  his  countrymen  on  in  the  “great  path  of 
righteousness  ” till  they  should  reach  the  “ correct  posi- 
tion of  propriety,”  and  “ dwell  in  the  wide  house  of  benev- 
olence.” We  said  that  we  were  inspired  with  admiration 
while  standing  the  spectators  of  these  endeavors  of  the 
Master  to  attain  for  himself  unto  the  stature  of  the  “ su- 
perior man,”  and  we  could  applaud  his  efforts  to  awaken 
in  others  the  same  desires,  and  to  direct  them  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  same  end.  But  while  we  admire  the  zeal 
and  perseverance  with  which  both  Confucius  and  Men- 
cius labor  to  urge  their  countrymen  on  in  the  ways  of 
virtue,  we  also  have  to  deplore  the  impotency  of  their 
efforts,  and  grieve  with  them  over  the  fruitlessness  of 
their  exertions. 

Behold  ! Yonder  is  the  elevated  plain — not  those  lofty 
peaks  gilded  with  the  light  which  shines  forth  from  that 
city  which  has  a light  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun  ; 


THE  SAGES  MOURN  THEIR  FAILURE. 


415 


the  heights  towards  which  He  who  came  down  from  heav- 
en alone  can  lead  us,  towards  which  angels  beckon  us, 
and  in  finding  which  the  Bible  only  is  our  chart — but 
yonder  is  the  elevated  ground  where  is  the  correct  posi- 
tion of  propriety  and  the  great  house  of  benevolence  in 
which  dwells  the  superior,  the  perfect  man.  A few  men 
of  noble  soul  start  on  their  journey  thither  : they  believe 
the  ascent  will  be  easy,  and  they  desire  to  lead  all  oth- 
ers with  them.  But  the  road  is  found  to  be  more  difficult 
than  was  expected,  the  mountain  sides  are  steeper  than 
was  supposed,  man  is  weaker  than  they  thought  him  to 
be,  more  temptations  spring  up  in  the  way  to  lure  them 
away  from  the  rugged  steeps,  to  places  of  repose  and  sen- 
sual enjoyment.  The  leaders  make  repeated  efforts  to 
rally  the  straggling,  loitering,  weary  multitudes,  and  when 
they  have  entirely  failed  with  the  first  company  they 
gather  others,  hoping  that  with  them  they  may  meet  with 
more  success.  Many  applaud  the  enterprise,  and  start 
upon  the  journey ; but,  like  those  who  set  out  before 
them,  they  too  in  a little  while  despair  of  reaching  the 
eminence  ; with  them,  as  is  common  to  human  nature, 
the  love  of  ease,  and  the  prospect  of  present  gratification, 
are  stronger  motives  than  the  attainment  of  perfect  vir- 
tue for  its  own  sake,  or  for  the  benefits  which  may  be 
realized  by  the  possession  of  it. 

“ The  Masters  ” bewail  the  failure  of  their  efforts  in 
urging  others  up  the  hill,  and  say,  “ Alas  ! how  is  the 
path  of  the  Mean  untrodden ; ” but  for  themselves  they 
think  that  surely  they  will  reach,  wiil  repose  in,  and  will 
end  their  days  in  that  “ wide  house  '*  wherein  dwells  the 
perfect  man ; and  so  they  climb  and  struggle  up,  but 
temptation  overcomes  them,  and  they  fall ; they  rise  and 


4i  6 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


endeavor  to  regain  the  ground  from  which  they  had  fallen 
back ; but  climbing  is  wearisome,  the  flesh  is  weak,  the 
height  still  is  far  above  them,  life  wears  to  its  termina- 
tion, and  they  too  sink  down,  finding  themselves  still  far 
below  the  point  towards  which  they  had  aimed. 

Are  we  not  reminded  here  of  one  in  another  place  who 
exclaimed,  “ The  good  that  I would,  I do  not ; but  the 
evil  which  I would  not,  that  I do.”  And  are  we  not  im- 
pressed with  the  necessity,  amongst  all  people  and  in  all 
ages,  for  the  same  agency  to  “work  in  man  to  will  and 
to  do  ” as  that  on  which  the  individual  here  referred  to 
relied  for  power  to  gain  the  victory  in  his  struggle  to  at- 
tain to  the  stature  of  the  perfect  man  ? 

DESPAIRING  OF  PERFECTION  BY  WORKS,  OTHER  METHODS 
ARE  SOUGHT. 

The  question  here  arises,  What  became  of  the  multi- 
tudes who  despaired  of  reaching  the  high  position  to 
which  their  leaders  pointed  them  ? 

The  history  of  the  introduction  of  idolatry  and  false 
religions  into  China,  and  the  gradual  increase  of  super- 
stitions there,  answers  this  question. 

Had  the  course  recommended  by  the  sages  been  some- 
thing that  was  easy,  and  quite  agreeable  to  man’s  natural 
love  of  ease,  and  his  aversion  to  effort  and  constant  vig- 
ilance, multitudes  would  have  followed  their  guidance. 
But,  as  it  was,  they  found  the  path  of  virtue  too  steep 
and  rugged ; they  failed  to  obey  the  precepts  of  their 
masters  ; and  failing  to  obey,  conscience  rebuked  them. 

Seeing  the  goal  still  so  far  away,  feeling  so  strong  a 
disinclination  to  exertion,  but  with  a sleepless  monitor 


OTHER  METHODS  OF  JUSTIFICATION.  417 

within  ever  admonishing  them  that  either  there  must  be 
an  upright  life,  or  some  punishment  for  transgression, 
some  penalty  for  short-coming,  they  felt  constrained  to 
look  around  for  any  other  method  by  which  either  their 
deficiencies  could  be  made  up  and  their  transgressions 
atoned  for,  or  else  they  must  find  gods  whose  attributes 
are  more  in  accordance  with  the  lower  attributes  of  their 
own  nature,  and  whose  service  is  more  pleasing  to  the 
selfish  heart. 

Man  naturally  loves  an  easy  religion ; and  a religion 
of  forms  is  easier  than  a religion  of  faith.  A religion  of 
forms  is  even  easier  than  a religion  of  morality ; for  he 
who  attempts  to  square  his  conduct  by  the  Decalogue  will 
find  himself  always  obnoxious  to  the  penalty,  both  in  re- 
gard to  sins  of  omission  and  of  commission : and  he  who, 
even  without  especial  regard  to  the  Decalogue,  still  at- 
tempts to  obey  that  mentor  within  his  breast,  only  in  those 
things  which  reason  teaches  him  are  right  and  wrong, 
will  every  day  find  the  debit  far  in  excess  of  the  credit 
side  of  his  account  with  conscience ; therefore,  if  he  either 
does  not  know  how,  or  does  not  choose  to  become  com- 
plete in  Him  who  may  be  made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  right- 
eousness, and  sanctification,  and  redemption,  he  will  prob- 
ably go  in  search  of  some  kind  of  religion  which  gives 
him  something  to  do  ; and,  as  the  history  of  idolatry,  and 
all  religions  of  external  rites  and  ceremonies  demon- 
strates, it  matters  but  little  what  it  is  he  has  to  do,  if  only  it 
will  ease  his  conscience  with  the  plea  that  he  has  been 
serving  his  god  and  gaining  merit. 

18* 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


41S 


WHAT  LED  CONFUCIUS  SO  TO  MAGNIFY  CEREMONIALS? 

The  same  considerations,  as  we  conceive,  help  us  to 
an  explanation  of  what  might  otherwise  seem  unaccount- 
able in  the  conduct  of  Confucius  himself.  The  worthy 
translator  of  the  Four  Books,  in  his  remarks  upon  the 
character  of  the  sage,  speaks  in  a way  that  leads  us  to 
suppose  that  those  minutiae  which  are  given  respecting 
the  character  of  Confucius  had  led  him  to  form  a less 
exalted  opinion  of  him  than  before : we  refer  to  such  par- 
ticulars as  these,  viz : his  wishing  his  meat  cut  fine,  his 
sleeping  dress  half  as  long  again  as  his  body,  his  mat 
straight,  and  all  those  particulars  in  public  and  social  cer- 
emonies which  he  so  frequently  and  so  particularly  incul- 
cated. These  were  things  which  he  could  do;  and  they 
were  observances  with  which  he  could  more  easily  induce 
the  people  to  conform  than  the  practice  of  rigid  morality. 

At  first  he  doubtless  considered  these  forms  of  eti- 
quette of  some  importance ; but  the  more  he  dwelt  upon 
them,  the  more  importance  they  assumed  in  his  esteem  ; 
and  also  the  more  the  teaching  of  them  afforded  him  en- 
couragement ; because,  as  we  remarked,  he  could  induce 
many  to  go  through  all  the  bendings  of  the  body,  the 
turnings,  bowings,  and  knocking  of  the  head  ; the  atten- 
tion to  fashion  in  dress,  and  the  forms  of  sacrificial  rites, 
whom  no  amount  of  argument  could  convert  to  lovers  of 
virtue,  and  observers  of  the  laws  of  reciprocity,  of  benev- 
olence, and  righteousness. 

The  Pharisees,  when  they  found  the  keeping  of  the 
weightier  matters  of  the  law  uncongenial  with  their  nat- 
ural love  of  ease,  and  their  proneness  to  courses  of  life 


PROMINENCE  GIVEN  TO  CEREMONIALS. 


419 


forbidden  in  their  law,  gave  their  attention  to  the  enlarg- 
ing of  the  borders  of  their  garments,  to  long  prayers, 
and  much  fasting,  and  a fasting  and  praying,  too,  which 
might  not  fail  to  be  seen  of  men.  They  passed  over 
judgment  and  the  love  of  God,  and  proceeded  to  the 
tithing  of  mint,  anise,  and  cummin  -}  and  what  more 
than  this  did  Confucius  do  ? 

The  perverted  imaginations  of  the  Pharisees  invented 
and  set  up  a God  that  would  take  delight  in  broad  phy- 
lacteries, prayers  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  and  tithes 
of  rue  and  garden  herbs  : Confucius’  uninstructed  imag- 
ination formed  to  itself  a god,  or  gods,  that  would  be 
satisfied  with  a very  nice  care  of  his  person,  with  his 
punctilious  observance  of  ceremonies,  with  holding  up 
his  robe,  with  dropping  his  arms  straight  down  by  his 
side  and  fixing  his  eyes  on  the  ground  and  looking  -very 
grave  at  one  time ; and  with  crooking  his  arms  and  flap- 
ing  his  flowing  sleeves,  like  the  wings  of  a bird,  at  an- 
other time. 

As  we  have  said,  however,  the  standard  of  morality 
set  up  by  Confucius  and  Mencius  was  high,  considering 
that  they  had  not  the  Bible  for  their  guide ; higher,  many 
think,  than  any  Greek  or  Roman  philosopher  ever  taught ; 
but  neither  did  Confucius  nor  Mencius  profess  to  be  per- 
fect when  measured  even  by  their  own  “measuring  line 
and  square.” 


IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL. 

Did  the  Chinese  sages  believe  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  ? They  surely  did  believe  in  the  existence  of 
the  soul  after  the  death  of  the  body,  and  therefo  e the 


420 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


constant  inculcation  of  the  duties  of  sacrificing  to  the 
spirits  of  the  departed,  and  the  serving  of  the  dead  as 
if  they  were  present ; therefore,  also,  the  doctrine  that 
it  was  the  most  unfilial  thing  not  to  marry  and  rear  sons ; 
for,  by  the  birth  of  sons,  the  line  of  descendants  would 
be  preserved,  and  thus  the  ancestral  worship  might  be 
continued,  while  otherwise,  the  line  would  become  ex- 
tinct, and  the  spirits  of  tlie  dead  would  have  none  to 
serve  them. 

Amongst  the  Chinese  of  ancient  days,  as  well  as 
amongst  other  people  of  all  ages,  there  was  a desire 
that  their  memory  should  be  kept  green ; therefore, 
amongst  the  recorded  conversations  of  the  Master,  we 
find  him  saying,  “ The  superior  man  dislikes  the  thought 
of  his  name  not  being  mentioned  after  death.” 

There  were  three  elements  which  entered  into  this  de- 
sire of  being  remembered.  There  was  the  natural  dread 
of  dying  and  being  forgotten ; the  desire  of  leaving  a 
name  which  might  be  cherished  because  of  good  deeds 
performed ; but,  principally,  a desire  to  be  remembered 
by  those  who  would-  nourish,  entertain,  and  serve  the  de- 
parted spirits,  lest,  being  without  surviving  descendants, 
the  friendless  soul  would  be  left  to  wander  hungry,  thirsty, 
naked — altogether  uncared  for  and  desolate. 

Such,  but  nothing  higher,  was  the  immortality  of  which 
Confucius  and  his  disciples  knew,  and  about  which  they 
exercised  solicitude.  This,  however,  did  not  satisfy  the 
sage  : his  was  a giant  mind,  and  we  can  imagine  how  he 
would  have  towered  upward  in  sublime  discourses  about 
the  great  God  who  made  all  things,  about  his  law  and  its 
sanctions,  and  the  blessings  of  him  who  is  the  friend  of 
God,  had  he  possessed  the  revelations  which  were  enjoy- 


IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL. 


42  X 


ed  by  the  patriarchs  who  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Uz  and  in 
Chaldea,  and  by  the  descendants  of  those  who  saw  God’s 
wonders  in  Egypt,  in  the  wilderness,  and  in  the  land  of 
Canaan.  Could  he  have  known  what  was  taught  to  the 
fishermen  of  Galilee,  and  what  the  young  man  from  Tar- 
sus learned,  his  themes  with  his  disciples  might  often  have 
been  of  the  life  and  immortality  which  to  readers  of  the 
Scriptures  are  fully  brought  to  light,  and  then  the  record 
of  the  closing  scenes  of  his  life  would  have  been  less 
sad  than  to  us  they  now  appear. 

His  disciples  asked  whether  he  would  have  prayer 
offered?  he  answered,  “I  have  prayed.”  But  to  what, 
or  to  whom,  had  he  prayed?  To  the  spirits  of  the  hills 
and  rivers,  and  of  the  rain  altars  ; and  to  ancestors. 

Standing  there  on  the  borders  of  time,  his  disciples 
gather  around  him,  and  we  may  presume  that  they  again 
press  that  question,  so  anxiously  urged  on  former  occa- 
sions, as  to  what  now  he  might  be  able  to  tell  them  of 
death,  of  the  mysterious  future,  and  of  spirits ; but  still 
he  had  only  that  familiar,  but  unsatisfactory  reply,  “Not 
knowing  life,  how  can  we  know  death  ? not  knowing  the 
present,  how  can  we  know  the  future  ?”  And  so,  straight- 
ening his  mat,  adjusting  his  robes,  laying  his  girdle  in 
order  across  his  body,  observing  all  the  appropriate 
forms  of  the  Book  of  Rites,  he  breathes  his  last  in  strict 
conformity  to  the  Rules  of  Etiquette. 

INFLUENCE  OF  THE  CLASSICS  ON  CHINA. 

What  has  been  the  influence  of  the  teachings  of  Con- 
fucius and  his  disciples  upon  China?  Undoubtedly, 
very  great  and  beneficial  effects  have  been  produced. 


422 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


How  is  it  possible  for  people  to  read  and  hear  contin- 
ually such  sentiments  as-  the  sages  taught,  and  not  be 
influenced  by  them?  For  the  habits  of  industry,  love  of 
learning,  honor  for  parents,  respect  for  rulers ; for  their 
extreme  politeness  ; for  that  desire  for  the  preservation 
of  an  unblemished  reputation  in  their  neighborhood  and 
in  the  sphere  in  which  they  act  as  business  men  and  pub- 
lic officers,  the  credit  must  be  largely  awarded  to  their 
ancient  teachers. 

But  there  are  also  effects  of  another  kind  which  we 
cannot  fail  to  observe,  and  which  are  sadly  in  the  way 
of  improving  the  Chinese,  whether  in  politics,  in  science, 
or  religion. 

The  universal  belief  being  that  Confucius  was  a holy 
man,  taught  by  Heaven — even  called  the  equal  of  Heaven 
— the  presumption  has  always  been  that  there  could  be 
nothing  worth  learning  which  Confucius  and  his  disciples 
did  not  teach. 

The  Pharisees  of  old  were  proud,  self-righteous,  and 
unimpressible,  because  they  could  say,  “ We  have  Abra- 
ham to  our  father;”  every  Chinaman  feels  the  same 
pride  in  being  able  to  boast  an  interest  in  Confucius. 
To  belong  to  the  nation  that  produced  a Confucius,  and 
that  possesses  the  books  of  Confucius,  is,  in  their  esti- 
mation, greater  glory  and  a greater  privilege  than  is  en- 
joyed by  any  other  people  “ under  the  whole  heavens.” 

Chinese  teachers,  elders,  and  parents  are  constant  in 
their  exhortations  to  the  young  not  to  forget  or  neglect 
the  instructions  of  the  ancients.  Especially  when  the 
people  emigrate  to  foreign  countries,  do  the  older  men 
feel  called  upon  to  use  a double  diligence  in  regard  to 
their  young  people ; handbills  are  posted,  the  parents 


REVOLUTIONIZING  AGENCIES. 


423 


and  guardians,  elder  brothers  and  relatives,  exhort  the 
younger  to  remember  the  instructions  of  the  sages,  and 
to  be  careful  not  to  forsake  the  religion  of  their  ances- 
tors ; “Jesus,”  as  they  say,  “may  do  for  foreigners  ; but 
Confucius  is  the  holy  man  of  China.”  “ He  that  fails  in 
the  duties  due  to  departed  spirits,  who  in  future  years 
will  sacrifice  to  his  manes  ?” 

REVOLUTIONIZING  AGENCIES  NOW  AT  WORK. 

But  strong  and,  to  mere  human  vision,  unyielding  as 
may  seem  these  fetters  of  pride,  prejudice,  and  reverence 
for  antiquity,  there  nevertheless  is  a power  that  can  break 
them.  The  gospel  has  its  trophies  in  China,  numbered 
by  thousands : its  power  has  been  seen  in  California. 
There  are  also  other  agencies  in  operation  which  are 
gradually,  but  surely,  working  a revolution  in  the  Chinese 
mind. 

We  need  only  to  refer  to  some  of  these  agencies  and 
influences. 

Providence  has  thrown  open  the  gates  of  China,  which 
for  thousands  of  years  had  remained  locked  and  barred  ; 
and  now  foreigners  are  penetrating  every  part  of  China, 
and  Chinese  are  visiting  every  portion  of  the  globe  in- 
habited by  man  ; and  surely  by  this  “ running  to  and  fro, 
knowledge  must  be  increased.”  The  thousands  of  enter- 
prising men  and  susceptible  youth  mingling  on  these 
shores  with  our  intelligent  men  of  business  ; the  men  and 
boys  employed  in  Christian  families  will,  on  their  return, 
carry  home  to  their  native  land  a fund  of  knowledge,  and 
impressions  which  will  work  like  leaven  through  the  vast 
masses  inhabiting  their  “eighteen  provinces.”  The  stim- 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


4-4 

ulus  already  given  to  commerce  and  to  travel  by  the 
opening  of  a monthly  steam  communication  with  China, 
is  but  a foreshadowing  of  what  is  to  be.  Before  lomr 
telegraphic  lines  will  place  us  as  near  to  China  as  we  are 
to  London.  On  these  shores  thousands  of  Chinese  youth 
are  learning  to  talk  and  to  read  our  language.  At  all 
the  ports  in  China  where  our  people  reside  there  are 
schools  in  which  our  language  is  taught  and  our  books 
are  read  ; and  recently,  at  the  capital,  the  emperor  has 
established  and  endowed  a school  for  teaching  the  youth- 
ful members  of  the  noble  families,  and  the  sons  of  the 
high  officers,  in  the  sciences  of  foreign  nations,  and  in 
the  English  language. 

To  show  that  the  Chinese  are  still  a reading,  and  a 
book  making  people,  we  have  only  to  refer  to  such  works 
as  those  prepared  by  Commissioner  Lin  after  he  was 
relieved  from  the  custody  of  his  seals  of  office.  He 
obtained  the  assistance  of  a young  man  who  had  been 
taught  in  the  Mission  schools  of  Canton,  and  by  compi- 
lation and  original  matter  prepared  many  volumes,  which 
might  be  called  an  Encyclopedia  of  Geography  and  His- 
tory, with  various  statistics  relating  to  foreign  countries. 
A similar  work  was  performed  by  a high  officer  at  Ning- 
po,  not  many  years  since,  during  a period  of  comparative 
retirement  from  the  cares  of  public  life.  Another  evi- 
dence we  cite  in  the  form  of  a newspaper  item,  of  the 
date  at  which  we  are  writing  : 

“ In  the  city  of  Fuhchow  there  is  a native  publishing 
house,  employing  more  than  a hundred  workmen.  The 
house  has  issued  over  one  thousand  different  publica- 
tions, one  of  them  being  a book  extending  to  forty  or 


REFLECTIONS. 


425 


fifty  volumes.  This  fact  gives  one  an  impressive  idea  of 
the  literary  character  of  the  Chinese.” 

REFLECTIONS. 

Confucius  taught  much  that  our  own  people  might  find 
a useful  study.  In  many  things  the  least  educated  Chi- 
naman might  be  an  example  unto  us.  But  Confucian 
ethics  have  done  all  that  any  mere  philosophy  or  moral 
code  is  able  to  do  for  China. 

Christianity  has  put  us  in  possession  of  everything 
that  we  enjoy  which  is  superior  to  what  our  neighbors 
have  attained. 

Taught  by  Confucius,  every  Chinaman  is  accustomed 
to  repeat,  “ All  between  the  four  seas  are  brethren ; ” 
while  in  our  Holy  Book  we  read  that  God  “ hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men.” 

We  who  read  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  have  the 
Golden  Rule  as  well  as  have  they  who  read  Confucius. 
What  we  would  have  done  for  ourselves  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances, we  can  if  we  choose  do  for  the  Chinese. 

The  higher  civilization,  the  purer  enjoyments,  and  the 
glorious  hopes  of  immortality  which  we  enjoy,  may  now 
be  placed  within  their  reach. 


Were  such  characters  as  Confucius  and  Mencius  to 
visit  our  country  in  these  days  from  any  foreign  land, 
how  would  the  nation  delight  to  honor  them  ! Colleges 
would  confer  upon  them  their  highest  degrees,  the  wri- 
tings of  those  sages  would  be  assigned  a prominent  place 
in  all  public  libraries,  and  the  countrymen  of  Confucius 


42  0 


EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 


and  Mencius  would  be  treated  with  proper  respect  and 
consideration. 

It  may  be  well  to  remember  that  when  our  ancestors 
were  living  in  bark  huts,  wearing  the  untanned  skins  of 
animals,  worshiping  Woden  and  Thor,  the  Sun  and  the 
Moon,  and  offering  human  victims  in  sacrifice,  China 
was  the  most  civilized  nation  on  the  globe. 

No  new  argument  need  be  adduced  showing  why  we 
should  treat  with  kindness  the  people  who  visit  us  from 
that  empire  which  began  its  existence  soon  after  those 
bands  (separated  by  the  confusion  of  tongues)  departed 
their  several  ways  from  the  plains  of  Shinar. 

No  people  capable  of  appreciating  such  sentiments  as 
are  contained  in  the  books  from  which  this  volume  has 
been  compiled — no  people  who,  from  childhood  to  old 
age,  are  constantly  drilled  in  the  study  and  practice  of 
such  rules  of  etiquette  as  we  have  cited,  can  fail  to  pos- 
sess many  of  the  elements  of  gentlemen : and  as  we 
desire  not  to  forfeit  a right  to  that  distinction  ourselves, 
we  will  be  careful  not  to  countenance  any  rude  or  im- 
proper behavior  towards  others,  whatever  may  be  the 
language  they  speak,  or  the  garments  they  wear. 


THE  EXD. 


INDEX 


CONFUCIUS  AND  THE  CHINESE  CLASSICS. 

Pack. 

Preface 7 

PART  I. 

HISTORY  AND  BIOGRAPHY. 

1.  Chinese  Plistory  down  to  the  Christian  Era 15 

2.  Ancient  Empire  of  China 27 

3.  Life  of  Confucius 44 

PART  II. 

THE  FOUR  BOOKS. 

1.  Introduction 63 

BOOK  I. 

CHAPTER  I. 

LUN  YU,  OR  CONFUCIAN  ANALECTS. 

CONFUCIUS. 

1.  What  the  Disciples  of  Confucius  say  of  their  Master  ....  67 

2.  What  Confucius  says  of  himself 70 

3.  Eulogium — Demeanor  of  Confucius  in  his  Village,  in  the 

Ancestral  Temple,  and  in  the  Court 75 

CHAPTER  II. 

THEOLOGY  AND  RELIGION. 

1.  Heaven  Decrees,  Helps,  Rewards,  and^Punishes 82 

2.  Serving  the  Spirits,  and  Worship  of  Ancestors 83 

3.  Confucius  had  not  heard  of  the  Atonement 8^ 


INDEX. 


423 

CHAPTER  III. 

DOMESTIC  RELATIONS. 

TAGr. 

1.  Filial  Piety 86 

2.  Social  Intercourse 87 

3.  On  Litigation go 

CHAPTER  IV. 

ETHICS. 

1.  Virtue 90 

2.  No  examples  of  Perfect  Virtue 97 

3.  The  Rule  of  Life  in  One  Word 97 

4.  The  Superior  Man — the  beau  ideal  of  Virtue 98 

5.  On  the  Formation  of  Character 103 

6.  Wisdom  and  Knowledge 105 

7.  Propriety 106 

8.  Truthfulness  and  Sincerity 107 

9.  On  Education no 

10.  Diligence,  Temperance,  Politeness 112 

11.  General  Duties 113 

CHAPTER  V. 

ON  GOVERNMENT. 

1.  AdviceTor  Kings 1 1 7 

2.  Instructions  for  Princes  and  Ministers 123 

3.  Examples  of  well-governed  States 124 

CHAPTER  VI. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

I.  Maxims 126 

2 Detached  Sentences  129 

BOOK  II. 

TAI  HOK,  OR  GREAT  LEARNING. 
CHAPTER  I. 

GOVERNMENT  OF  FAMILY  AND  STATE. 

1.  Self-control  a prerequisite  to  Family  Government : Family 

Government  a prerequisite  to  Governing  a State 13 1 

2 What  the  Ruler  would  have  his  People  be,  he  must  be 

himself 133 


INDEX. 


429 

CHAPTER  II. 

STATE  OFFICES  AND  EMOLUMENTS. 

Tace. 

I.  The  evil  consequences  when  Offices  are  sought  on  account 

of  their  Emoluments 135 

CHAPTER  III. 

SELF  CULTURE. 

1.  Self  Culture 138 

2.  On  having  the  Thoughts  sincere 140 

BOOK  III. 

TPIE  CHUNG  YUNG,  OR  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  MEAN. 

PROLEGOMENA  BY  THE  PHILOSOPHER  CHING. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PATH  OF  DUTY — ITS  ORIGIN  IN  HEAVEN. 

1.  A perfect  nature  conferred  on  all;  but  the  path  of  virtue  is 

untrodden 143 

2.  The  Golden  Rule  negatively  and  positively  expressed.  Con- 

fucius confesses  not  having  attained  to  it 144 

3.  Perform  your  duty,  nor  murmur  at  Heaven’s  appointments  145 

CHAPTER  II. 

PICTURE  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 

1.  A portraiture  of  the  perfect  Man  who  walks  in  the  path  of 

the  Mean 146 

j.  Confucius  the  equal  of  Heaven 148 

CHAPTER  III. 

STANDARD  RULES  FOR  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  EMPIRE. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

RELIGION. 

1.  Filial  duties  due  to  the  dead  as  to  the  living 153 

2.  Respecting  spirits 154 

3.  About  omens 155 


43° 


INDEX, 


CHAPTER  V, 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Pace. 

1.  The  five  Duties  and  three  Virtues 156 

2.  Domestic  Happiness 157 

BOOK  IV. 

MENCIUS. 

I.  Life  of  Mencius 158 

CHAPTER  I. 

ON  GOVERNMENT. 

1.  Rulers  appointed  by  Heaven 164 

2.  Instruction  for  Princes  and  Public  Officers 166 

3.  In  the  choice  of  Ministers,  be  not  guided  by  the  reports 

of  others 169 

4.  Govern  on  principles  of  Benevolence  and  Righteousness. 

Rulers  must  themselves  be  wise  and  good 170 

5.  Benevolent  Government  secures  the  affections  of  the  sub- 

jects   175 

6.  The  support  and  comfort  of  the  aged  a religious  duty. ...  176 

7.  Effects  of  oppression ' 177 

8.  Be  prepared  to  resist  invasion 178 

9.  Rulers  govern  by  their  example 178 

10.  The  family  the  root  of  the  State.  He  who  governs  him- 

self may  govern  a family ; he  who  can  govern  his 
family  may  govern  a State 179 

11.  Political  Economy 180 

12.  On  levying  taxes 185 

13.  Division  of  labor 189 

14.  Encourage  learning  and  commerce 193 

15.  Cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  a help  to  good  government  ...  194 

16.  Effects  of  good  government 199 

1 7.  Effects  of  bad  government 203 

18.  The  emperor’s  tour  of  inspection 203 


INDEX.  43 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

METAPHYSICS  AND  MORALS. 

Pack. 

1.  Passion  nature _ 205 

2.  The  original  heart.  The  Chinese  sages’  view  of  human 

nature 210 

3.  Heaven  decrees — Heaven  directs 21S 

4.  Heaven  rewards  and  punishes.  Be  in  harmony  with  the 

ordinances  of  God 219 

5.  Do  right ; leave  events  with  Heaven 219 

6.  Love  righteousness  more  than  life 220 

7.  The  golden  rule — selfishness  unprofitable 223 

CHAPTER  III.  • 

IDEAL  OF  THE  PERFECT  MAN. 

1.  The  superior  man 225 

2.  The  good  man  delights  in  what  is  good 227 

3.  On  education 228- 

4.  Knowledge  is  acquired  by  successive  steps,  and  by  per- 

severance  230 

5.  Diligence  and  fidelity  the  way  to  preferment 231 

6.  Trials  and  hardships  prepare  for  great  services 233 

7.  U nmerited  fame  not  lasting 234 

CHAPTER  IV. 

DOMESTIC  REGULATIONS. 

1.  On  the  choice  of  a residence  and  associates 236 

2.  Parental  government 240 

3.  Filial  and  fraternal  duties 241 

4.  On  espousals 242 

5.  Marriage  rites,  women’s  duties,  court  etiquette 243 

6.  Burial  rites 245 

7.  Mourning  for  parents 246 

8.  Religious  rites 249 

9.  On  giving  and  receiving  presents 249 

CHAPTER  V. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

1.  Historical  scraps 251 


432 


INDEX. 


Tack. 

2.  Items  containing  references  to  ancient  emperors 252 

3.  Detached  sentences 256 

4.  Maxims 260 

5.  The  source  from  which  Mencius  derived  the  doctrines  of 

this  book 263 

PART  III. 

SELECTIONS. 

Pursuit  of  Knowledge  under  Difficulties 265 

A Confucian  Tract 268 

A Budhist  Tract 275 

The  Rationalists 278 

Extract  from  The  Book  of  Constant  Purity 283 

“ “ The  Wonderful  Book  on  the  Removal  of  Calam- 
ities, etc 286 

Tablet  Literature 289 

Directory  for  the  Whole  Life 292 

Rules  of  Etiquette 298 

The  Mirror  of  the  Mind 307 

A Precocious  Youth 312 

Harmony  between  Husband  and  Wife 318 

Thousand  Character  Classic 331 

Examples  of  Filial  Duty 337 

Chinese  Moral  Maxims 344 

Apothems  and  Proverbs 35 1 

Aphorisms  by  Dr.  Hu  Tsin-Yang 356 

Ancient  Chinese  Poetry 357 

Harmonious  Water  Birds 357 

Verses  from  the  Tai  Ya 35^ 

Verses  of  the  poet  Su 359 

Modem  Chinese  Poetry 3^° 

A Recent  Visit  to  the  Classic  Grounds  of  China 371 

PART  IV. 

EDITORIAL  REVIEW. 

Remarks  on  the  doctrines  taught  by  the  Chinese  sages,  and 

their  influence  on  the  Chinese  mind 393 


